Browse content similar to 13/01/2016. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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I trust members leaving the chamber will do so quickly and quietly, | :00:00. | :00:00. | |
preserving their private conversations for somewhere other | :00:00. | :00:09. | |
than the chamber. Mr Speaker, I wondered if overnight | :00:10. | :00:14. | |
you have had an opportunity to reflect upon the points of order I | :00:15. | :00:18. | |
raised at the end of the debate last night. The certification process is | :00:19. | :00:25. | |
a new procedure. It is very, very important that we get it right. | :00:26. | :00:31. | |
Particularly since it has stch negative and adverse affects for MPs | :00:32. | :00:33. | |
for Northern Ireland and from Scotland. I intended no criticism of | :00:34. | :00:40. | |
you, Mr Speaker, however I would hope, Mr Speaker, that you would | :00:41. | :00:44. | |
accept that when the governlent tables a new clause that mentions | :00:45. | :00:50. | |
both England and Wales, but then a designation is made in the | :00:51. | :00:54. | |
certificate that it applies exclusively to England, it hs | :00:55. | :00:57. | |
inherently ambiguous and contradictory. That is the point I | :00:58. | :01:00. | |
was making and I would like clarification of how we correct a | :01:01. | :01:05. | |
certificate which is design`ted apparently incorrectly. | :01:06. | :01:12. | |
I thank the honourable lady for her point of order. More over, H can | :01:13. | :01:17. | |
confirm to her and to the house that I am aware of the point of order | :01:18. | :01:21. | |
that she raised with the ch`ir yesterday evening, specific`lly the | :01:22. | :01:27. | |
first deputy Chairman of Waxs and Means was present at the tile. Let | :01:28. | :01:35. | |
me say this to the honourable lady, who I know would never be gtilty of | :01:36. | :01:40. | |
any insults to or display of discourtesy towards the chahr, that | :01:41. | :01:46. | |
I think she and the House c`n usefully benefit from an explanation | :01:47. | :01:57. | |
which on this occasion - and I emphasise on this occasion- I am | :01:58. | :02:02. | |
happy to provide. It is understandable that she initially | :02:03. | :02:06. | |
surmised that new clause 62 should have been certified as relating to | :02:07. | :02:13. | |
Wales, as well as to England. But, the reality is, as close ex`mination | :02:14. | :02:19. | |
testifies, the application to Wales falls into the category of linor or | :02:20. | :02:26. | |
consequential as - and this is the crucial point - it makes no change | :02:27. | :02:33. | |
in the law applying in Wales, and so, in the view of the chair, which | :02:34. | :02:38. | |
was informed by the combined advice of the clerks and the officd of | :02:39. | :02:45. | |
Speaker 's counsel, it was rightly certified as relating exclusively to | :02:46. | :02:52. | |
England. I do not in general intended to explain my decisions in | :02:53. | :02:57. | |
this way, and that is why I emphasised that I was happy on this | :02:58. | :03:02. | |
occasion to provide an expl`nation, but as this is the first occasion of | :03:03. | :03:08. | |
a legislative grand committde and the suggestion, which I absolutely | :03:09. | :03:17. | |
accept was honest and well-intentioned, of error on the | :03:18. | :03:22. | |
part of the chair, is on thd record, I have thought it best to ptt the | :03:23. | :03:28. | |
matter straight. That said, I should also like to take this opportunity | :03:29. | :03:34. | |
to say to all members that the whole point of my publishing provhsional | :03:35. | :03:41. | |
certificates is to give thel ample opportunity to make representations | :03:42. | :03:49. | |
if they think that an error has been made or are they wish simplx to | :03:50. | :03:55. | |
express a contrary view before I am required to make a decision which | :03:56. | :03:58. | |
must then be regarded, for reasons with which the house will bd well | :03:59. | :04:02. | |
the milieu come as final and not subject to further appeal. ,- will | :04:03. | :04:11. | |
be well familiar, as final. The proper Channel 4 representations on | :04:12. | :04:14. | |
the draft or provisional certificate is via the clerk of the Ashlead | :04:15. | :04:19. | |
registration in the public bill office. I hope that is -- is through | :04:20. | :04:25. | |
the clerk of registration. H hope that sell pulled to the honourable | :04:26. | :04:32. | |
lady and the House. We will hear from the honourable lady. | :04:33. | :04:35. | |
I am enormously grateful to you for making that statement on thhs. I | :04:36. | :04:41. | |
have noted that it is in fact an exception on this occasion. Bearing | :04:42. | :04:44. | |
in mind what the Speaker has said, may I just note for the record that | :04:45. | :04:54. | |
the four members who represdnt Northern Ireland constituencies | :04:55. | :04:57. | |
Sinn Fein members, do receive report -- support for Edinburgh stdel and | :04:58. | :05:03. | |
secretarial assistance. I sht as an independent member representing | :05:04. | :05:07. | |
North Down and is -- receivdd no additional funding for secrdtarial | :05:08. | :05:11. | |
or administrative assistancd. In light of the very comforted its | :05:12. | :05:15. | |
certification process now introduced which affects me and other | :05:16. | :05:18. | |
representatives from Northern Ireland, I wonder if the Spdaker | :05:19. | :05:24. | |
would give some consideration to additional support for membdrs like | :05:25. | :05:27. | |
me when we have two go throtgh the certification list. -- clean we must | :05:28. | :05:34. | |
go through. -- when we must go through. | :05:35. | :05:39. | |
It is not for me to consider the provision of additional support in | :05:40. | :05:42. | |
the sense in which she implhes it, that is to say financially paid for | :05:43. | :05:52. | |
support. Secondly, and I intend no discourtesy to the honourable lady | :05:53. | :05:55. | |
and I am not being pedantic, I am trying to be precise, there is a | :05:56. | :05:58. | |
real sense in which the honourable lady does not go through thd | :05:59. | :06:04. | |
certification process. I do, that is the responsibility of the chair with | :06:05. | :06:07. | |
which I have been invested by the House. Thirdly, and I am re`lly | :06:08. | :06:12. | |
trying to be helpful to the honourable lady and to the House in | :06:13. | :06:16. | |
the context of what is a new procedure, although it is not for me | :06:17. | :06:22. | |
to pledge or to hint at any additional support of a kind that I | :06:23. | :06:27. | |
think she might have had in mind, what the honourable lady dods have | :06:28. | :06:35. | |
is the support of the clerks and other procedural specialists in this | :06:36. | :06:40. | |
house. The honourable lady knows well the route to the table on us -- | :06:41. | :06:49. | |
table office, and I if I max say so think she should take advantage of | :06:50. | :06:57. | |
their expertise. Our bewiggdd friends have considerable expertise | :06:58. | :07:02. | |
in these matters. They are not only prepared to advise the honotrable | :07:03. | :07:06. | |
lady and any other member, they are positively excited by the prospect | :07:07. | :07:13. | |
of doing so. The fact that they are excited by the prospect, I say to | :07:14. | :07:17. | |
the shadow leader of the hotse, rather suggests they will h`ve a | :07:18. | :07:20. | |
smile on their face at the time And they have now. I hope that will do | :07:21. | :07:24. | |
for today. The honourable l`dy and I know each other well and if she has | :07:25. | :07:29. | |
further difficulties in the future I am always pleased to hear from her | :07:30. | :07:31. | |
and do try to assist her and any other member in this or any other | :07:32. | :07:38. | |
matters. We now come to the ten minute rule | :07:39. | :07:40. | |
motion. Mr Toby Burtons. I beg to of that league be given to | :07:41. | :07:49. | |
provide for a Roof earning wish National Anthem to be used `t | :07:50. | :07:52. | |
sporting occasions where a piece of music is required. I would like to | :07:53. | :07:56. | |
say at the outset that I'm neither a Republican nor an atheist nor an | :07:57. | :08:00. | |
English nationalist. I will speak more about that theme shortly. | :08:01. | :08:04. | |
Members should detection of stellar tea by me towards God, Her Lajesty | :08:05. | :08:10. | |
The Queen, God staved the Qteen or the United Kingdom. It is precisely | :08:11. | :08:13. | |
out of respect for preserving many of these things that I belidve the | :08:14. | :08:16. | |
time has come to consider the question of an English National | :08:17. | :08:20. | |
Anthem. I would like to record the excellent work already done on this | :08:21. | :08:23. | |
issue by the Honourable member for Leeds North West, the member for | :08:24. | :08:26. | |
Shrewsbury, and the member for Romford. This is a cross-party | :08:27. | :08:30. | |
campaign and I believe the Prime Minister has also shown somd | :08:31. | :08:33. | |
sympathy for the argument of an English National Anthem. Thd level | :08:34. | :08:38. | |
of interest confirms to me `nd anthem for England is a movdment | :08:39. | :08:42. | |
whose time has come. As is often the case, fries in this Parliamdnt, we | :08:43. | :08:46. | |
must catch up with public opinion and allow the voice of Engl`nd to be | :08:47. | :08:49. | |
heard. I spoke with radio stations in all corners of England this | :08:50. | :08:55. | |
morning, such was the interdst in debating on what the anthem should | :08:56. | :08:58. | |
be full to be provoked on the streets of towns far and wide, each | :08:59. | :09:05. | |
different area reflect the Divis us of our multifaceted nation. I want | :09:06. | :09:10. | |
silky area was that thought it should be Heaven Knows I'm Liserable | :09:11. | :09:16. | |
Now, it will remain a secret between myself and, this was BBC Hulberside, | :09:17. | :09:21. | |
that was reflected that each local area has its own sense of what | :09:22. | :09:25. | |
Englishness means and it's often seemed incongruous to me th`t when | :09:26. | :09:28. | |
England has played against other home nations on the football or | :09:29. | :09:31. | |
rugby fit that was the Welsh or Scots sing and anthem that reflects | :09:32. | :09:35. | |
their nation's identity, England should sing about Britain. Ht | :09:36. | :09:39. | |
reflects a sense that we sed Britain and England as synonymous and this | :09:40. | :09:42. | |
not only can I does English and option to celebrate the nathon that | :09:43. | :09:46. | |
is being presented, but is `lso a cause resentment amongst other | :09:47. | :09:49. | |
countries in the British Isles who feel that England have requhsitioned | :09:50. | :09:53. | |
the song. I have deliberately not referred to fight on the situation | :09:54. | :09:56. | |
and occasions from Northern Ireland of what is discussed today. While | :09:57. | :10:00. | |
this bill is the degree abott England and would have no | :10:01. | :10:03. | |
jurisdiction over Northern Hreland whatsoever, I've received | :10:04. | :10:07. | |
considerable interest from Northern Ireland so I will respond to that in | :10:08. | :10:09. | |
a moment. I would like to s`y little about the current situation. | :10:10. | :10:13. | |
National anthems are matter of convention and the British National | :10:14. | :10:15. | |
Anthem is accepted as God S`ve The Queen. This is not enshrined in law | :10:16. | :10:21. | |
anywhere. The first teen singer National Anthem with the Welsh Rugby | :10:22. | :10:27. | |
to in response to the New Zdaland Hakka. Since then the Welsh edition | :10:28. | :10:32. | |
of singing land of my Fathers was given a Welsh flavour to evdry | :10:33. | :10:35. | |
sporting contest they compete in. Flower of Scotland has been used as | :10:36. | :10:42. | |
a National Anthem by the Scotland national rugby team for each of | :10:43. | :10:44. | |
their defeats, or should I say matches. I want to speak brhefly of | :10:45. | :10:52. | |
Northern Ireland. There was an exception. I recognise that matters | :10:53. | :10:55. | |
of the cost juice and are particularly keenly felt in Northern | :10:56. | :11:00. | |
Ireland and this bill only reformers to an English consultation. The | :11:01. | :11:03. | |
Northern Ireland football tdam the singer God Save The Queen and I ve | :11:04. | :11:07. | |
had a single contact from mddia citizens in Northern Ireland, | :11:08. | :11:13. | |
interestingly collars to BBC radio Northern Ireland seeming disaster by | :11:14. | :11:15. | |
the idea of people being given a choice but that will be the matter | :11:16. | :11:18. | |
from Northern Ireland. I don't believe England should be forced to | :11:19. | :11:22. | |
make their decision based upon the fact it might cost pressure to be | :11:23. | :11:25. | |
put on authorities in Northdrn Ireland to make a different decision | :11:26. | :11:29. | |
themselves. Cons -- in cost additional matters is better to | :11:30. | :11:33. | |
allow the voice of the people to be heard and to dictate if at `ll | :11:34. | :11:35. | |
possible. The important steps towards making the spot is ly | :11:36. | :11:39. | |
Scottish Parliament the most evolved in the world, and other | :11:40. | :11:42. | |
devolutionary measures, mean we need a fresh assessment for Engl`nd and | :11:43. | :11:46. | |
Britain as part of re-establishing the distinct identities of before | :11:47. | :11:49. | |
nations that make up the UK of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I | :11:50. | :11:53. | |
don't believe that means we should fear recognising England as an | :11:54. | :11:57. | |
entity, but we should welcole the opportunity to be establishdd idea | :11:58. | :12:03. | |
that the UK is a union of four separate nations with their own | :12:04. | :12:07. | |
identities that are part of a wider union further on mutual good. It is | :12:08. | :12:15. | |
remarkable for me that foot`ge of the 1966 World Cup, it was ` proud | :12:16. | :12:21. | |
occasion and on that occasion, if you look on the ground you so you | :12:22. | :12:26. | |
the union Jack, even in the 199 World Cup, England fans completed | :12:27. | :12:32. | |
the union Jack. It was in 1896 and the European Championship, possibly | :12:33. | :12:35. | |
because England were drawn to play against Scotland, that the flag of | :12:36. | :12:38. | |
St George came to be seen as the flag of England and the union Jack | :12:39. | :12:42. | |
is now virtually disappeared at Wembley when England are pl`ying. In | :12:43. | :12:46. | |
2010 the Commonwealth Games Council for England conducted a poll of | :12:47. | :12:49. | |
members of the public that decided the anthem for the 2010 Comlonwealth | :12:50. | :12:54. | |
Games should be Jerusalem that at the options were God Save The Queen, | :12:55. | :12:58. | |
Jerusalem and land of Hope `nd Glory. Jerusalem was the cldar | :12:59. | :13:02. | |
winner with 52% of the vote. Land of hope and glory received 32 cassette | :13:03. | :13:07. | |
and God Save The Queen just 12% Jerusalem is a favourite choice of | :13:08. | :13:10. | |
those who voted in the Commonwealth Games ball, so it seems to be an | :13:11. | :13:13. | |
early favourite amongst those who have engaged with me amongst the | :13:14. | :13:18. | |
public. Campaign group In That My Heart is competing for Jerusalem to | :13:19. | :13:21. | |
play for England rugby matches and that levels of what it seems like if | :13:22. | :13:27. | |
all gone -- a foregone conclusion. I have no way of knowing whether there | :13:28. | :13:30. | |
is a way of putting people off William Bates' classic chewhng but I | :13:31. | :13:37. | |
suspect driving around Parlhament Square with a van blaring it out | :13:38. | :13:41. | |
might be a way to achieve that. You cannot always choose your friends in | :13:42. | :13:45. | |
these matters. Nonetheless, I welcome the fact they are | :13:46. | :13:49. | |
enthusiastic. The Zionist mhnd agent to bring this bill to parli`ment | :13:50. | :13:52. | |
there has been widespread coverage and there has been lots of support, | :13:53. | :13:59. | |
a daily Mirror poll said 71$ were in favour of an English Nation`l Anthem | :14:00. | :14:03. | |
and we need a more formal attempt to take peoples of the nation. My bill | :14:04. | :14:08. | |
will not specify what anthel should be chosen, my bill puts a dtty under | :14:09. | :14:16. | |
Secretary of State for culttre, media and sport told a constltation | :14:17. | :14:18. | |
across England and will conclude what the National Anthem should be | :14:19. | :14:22. | |
and at the end of the consultation will call me secretary of state to | :14:23. | :14:25. | |
rise to the football that she Robbie football union come netball and any | :14:26. | :14:28. | |
other sporting bodies that have athletes or teams of athletds | :14:29. | :14:31. | |
representing England and informed than the English National Anthem | :14:32. | :14:35. | |
should be used in the event that a piece of music is acquired dither | :14:36. | :14:38. | |
prior to the contest or at the awarding of medals. Once thd bill | :14:39. | :14:42. | |
has been passed it will be the section states to decide wh`t form | :14:43. | :14:45. | |
the consultation should takd and what the contenders should be. | :14:46. | :14:50. | |
Alongside the choices listed by the Commonwealth Games, anthems like I | :14:51. | :14:53. | |
vowed to be my country and they will always be in England have bden | :14:54. | :14:56. | |
suggested. Others believe it could be opportunity for the X Factor | :14:57. | :15:00. | |
style programme to combine traditional choices alongside maybe | :15:01. | :15:04. | |
some newly commissioned opthons The opportunity for this to be ` real | :15:05. | :15:08. | |
moment of engagement with the English people about this specific | :15:09. | :15:12. | |
aspect of our future directhon is significant. This idea has had many | :15:13. | :15:15. | |
positive reviews, including supportive comments -- colulns in | :15:16. | :15:20. | |
the daily Mirror and the Sunday express. I was responded to read | :15:21. | :15:23. | |
that a friend of Her Majestx considered the idea was rudd. But | :15:24. | :15:28. | |
having upmost respect for the inventors of the lady concerned I | :15:29. | :15:31. | |
fear the response betrays the extent to which the question of Englishness | :15:32. | :15:35. | |
is passed to buy and lead the nations have chosen to no longer use | :15:36. | :15:38. | |
the British anthem, it's too late for this to be a question of all | :15:39. | :15:41. | |
component parts of Britain `cting in the same way, so it makes England | :15:42. | :15:45. | |
the outlier. I hope the house give support for this important bill and | :15:46. | :15:49. | |
while I accept that the Sunday should be more important issues with | :15:50. | :15:52. | |
you to consider, the issue of national identity is a powerful one | :15:53. | :15:55. | |
and my speed is that ignoring the issue only allows it to fester. I | :15:56. | :16:00. | |
believe the consultation th`t my bill proposes will lead to ` | :16:01. | :16:03. | |
national conversation across England and ultimately the voice of opinion | :16:04. | :16:07. | |
will be heard. Whatever it was the people make, it will be the majority | :16:08. | :16:13. | |
views and we in this house can do no better than make sure the voice of | :16:14. | :16:17. | |
England is heard. The questhon is that the honourable member have | :16:18. | :16:24. | |
leave to bring in the bill. Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise to oppose | :16:25. | :16:29. | |
this bill. I congratulate the honourable gentleman for just - for | :16:30. | :16:34. | |
Chesterfield the following hn the footsteps of Flanders and Swann | :16:35. | :16:37. | |
Some years ago they proposed that England should have its own National | :16:38. | :16:43. | |
Anthem and they came up with the English, the English, the English | :16:44. | :16:47. | |
were best. I will not go through all the lines cause they are not a great | :16:48. | :16:51. | |
advocate of political correctness. Some elements in this modern age may | :16:52. | :16:56. | |
cause some discombobulated `nd to some of our honourable membdrs. | :16:57. | :17:01. | |
Particularly my friends in the SNP for that there's an excellent line | :17:02. | :17:03. | |
about the Greeks and Italians eat garlic in bed, something to be | :17:04. | :17:09. | |
strongly advised against as an unpleasant and somewhat malodorous | :17:10. | :17:16. | |
habit. Actually, I oppose this proposal for deep and seriots | :17:17. | :17:22. | |
reasons. What greater pleastre can there be for a true born Englishman | :17:23. | :17:29. | |
or true born English woman to listen to our own National Anthem. A | :17:30. | :17:36. | |
National Anthem for our old country, for our whole United Kingdol, of | :17:37. | :17:40. | |
which England is but a part, but an important part. And to listdn to | :17:41. | :17:47. | |
those words that link us to our sovereign, who is part of that chain | :17:48. | :17:51. | |
that takes us back to our mdmorial history to sing, or if one cannot | :17:52. | :17:58. | |
sing, to listen to the music, the June Zebre June that invokes our | :17:59. | :18:05. | |
loyalty to our nation has bdcome over the years. A tune that has been | :18:06. | :18:14. | |
popular since 1745 when it hs thought to have started in response | :18:15. | :18:21. | |
to the Jacobite rebellion. H'm usually in favour of Jacobites from | :18:22. | :18:24. | |
these reasons. On this occasion they were traitors, and not to bd | :18:25. | :18:32. | |
encouraged. The words that develops then and have remained constant | :18:33. | :18:35. | |
changed only when we have a woman on the throne rather than a man. A tune | :18:36. | :18:42. | |
that encapsulates the patriotism that we wish to express when | :18:43. | :18:48. | |
supporting a team and when the honourable gentleman for | :18:49. | :18:51. | |
Chesterfield said that now Dnglish crowds take St George's flag rather | :18:52. | :18:57. | |
than the union Jack, to me that as a matter of pity, shame that we have | :18:58. | :19:01. | |
given up viewing ourselves `s one year it is kingdom whether we are | :19:02. | :19:05. | |
supporting England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland and it tsed | :19:06. | :19:11. | |
expressions of individual nationalism or a dish uniting factor | :19:12. | :19:16. | |
in our country. In a countrx that we ought to want to make more tnited | :19:17. | :19:23. | |
and they have taken to having Jerusalem as the honourable | :19:24. | :19:25. | |
gentleman mentioned at various sporting occasions, it is stng at | :19:26. | :19:30. | |
the beginning of Test matchds in some grounds, and glad to s`y this | :19:31. | :19:35. | |
does not seem to happen at Lord s, which think is an indication of a | :19:36. | :19:42. | |
proper ordering of things, H'm not sure that singing a jolly ttne at | :19:43. | :19:45. | |
the beginning of a match is particularly dignified and | :19:46. | :19:51. | |
represents the nation as thd nation of what he represented. And they | :19:52. | :19:54. | |
have taken to Jerusalem and juridical has a good tone to it It | :19:55. | :20:00. | |
is a happy song for people to sing and we should all be in favour of | :20:01. | :20:06. | |
happiness. But does it really make us have that patriotically pride | :20:07. | :20:10. | |
swell up in ours in the way that we would like. When we think of the | :20:11. | :20:14. | |
words of Jerusalem, there is a question I must pose that it is a | :20:15. | :20:22. | |
highly speculative question, and did those feet in ancient times, this | :20:23. | :20:27. | |
question being asked? But I come from Somerset and I know thd answer. | :20:28. | :20:31. | |
It is well-known that Christ was taken by Joseph of Arimathe` to | :20:32. | :20:36. | |
Glastonbury. Why injuries long would anyone want to sing did, whdn we | :20:37. | :20:43. | |
know the truth is that Christ not only want to Glastonbury but also in | :20:44. | :20:47. | |
that old Somerset saying to a trip to assert the truth of anything that | :20:48. | :20:56. | |
Christ also went, probably `lso as a young man to pretty. Do you possibly | :20:57. | :21:02. | |
want to have an anthem that questions is undeniable truth of | :21:03. | :21:07. | |
God's on county, that countx is particularly selected for vhsitation | :21:08. | :21:10. | |
by Aaron Lord when he was on earth? Not only does this proposed bill | :21:11. | :21:17. | |
seeks to regularise something that in our particularly brilliant | :21:18. | :21:22. | |
British way we have never previously needed to regularise, that `re | :21:23. | :21:25. | |
rational anthem has come about overtime without needing regulation | :21:26. | :21:32. | |
or bureaucracy or any of thdse things we dislike. That is ` reason | :21:33. | :21:39. | |
for opposing it. It does reduce that sense of devotion to our sovereign | :21:40. | :21:44. | |
that we ought to have, it is proper to have, indeed, that we ard firm or | :21:45. | :21:49. | |
take oath that we will have when we swear or affirm as members of | :21:50. | :21:53. | |
Parliament, and that would be a sad thing to lose. It lacks the courage | :21:54. | :21:57. | |
of Flanders and Swann to go the whole hog and be really properly | :21:58. | :22:04. | |
eccentrically patriotically. It is a second-tier level of Nation`l | :22:05. | :22:06. | |
Anthem, though I must confess I was relieved that it was proposdd the | :22:07. | :22:10. | |
anthem might be a song norm`lly sung at the Labour Party conference, that | :22:11. | :22:17. | |
the one chosen was not the red flag. The with the current trend hn the | :22:18. | :22:19. | |
leadership of the Labour Party would not surprise me if in a year we have | :22:20. | :22:24. | |
a private members bill making singing the red flag compulsory as | :22:25. | :22:30. | |
well. I'm glad to get support from the front bench to the side of the | :22:31. | :22:35. | |
aisle, where they probably think it's hardly good idea. We don't want | :22:36. | :22:40. | |
to get them away from the wrong song, one might as -- offend some -- | :22:41. | :22:46. | |
since builders, we should affirm our loyalty to the sovereign lady when | :22:47. | :22:51. | |
we should confound politics and frustrate his knavish tricks, Mr | :22:52. | :22:54. | |
Speaker. The question is th`t the honourable member have leavd to | :22:55. | :22:55. | |
bring in The question is that the Honourable | :22:56. | :23:07. | |
Member have leave to bring hn the Bill. As many as are of the opinion, | :23:08. | :23:16. | |
say "aye". To the contrary, "no . The Ayes have it. | :23:17. | :23:19. | |
Who will bring in the bill? Angela Smith, Bob Stewart, Michael | :23:20. | :23:23. | |
Fabricant, Sir Gerald Howard and myself, sir. | :23:24. | :23:35. | |
English national anthem Bill. Second reading, what day? Friday the | :23:36. | :24:06. | |
4th of March. Thank you, order. We come now to the main bushness, | :24:07. | :24:12. | |
opposition Day 15th awarded today, and to the motion in the nale of the | :24:13. | :24:17. | |
leader of the Scottish National Party. To move the motion on trade, | :24:18. | :24:22. | |
exports, innovation and productivity, I call Mr Stewart | :24:23. | :24:28. | |
Hosie. Thank you, Mr Speaker, I beg to move | :24:29. | :24:32. | |
the motion in the name of mxself at my honourable friends. It is a | :24:33. | :24:38. | |
serious debate and it is appropriate, I think, that we do it | :24:39. | :24:44. | |
today, given the news published yesterday that UK industrial output | :24:45. | :24:50. | |
has suffered its sharpest f`ll since 2013. And, of course, the ftrther | :24:51. | :24:55. | |
assessment yesterday that ddscribes how real terms in earnings hn the UK | :24:56. | :24:59. | |
are still now substantially lower than they were in 2009, and even GDP | :25:00. | :25:08. | |
growth over the last decade or so has been lower than Japan dtring its | :25:09. | :25:19. | |
decade of stagflation. I thhnk it is important when we recognise the | :25:20. | :25:23. | |
matters we are going to address are not based on some short-terl issue, | :25:24. | :25:26. | |
this is not a quick politic`l hit, this is trying to get to thd root | :25:27. | :25:32. | |
cause of a long and systemic problem in the UK, the failure to address | :25:33. | :25:38. | |
trade and exports, innovation and productivity in total over tp | :25:39. | :25:47. | |
prolonged period of time. The reason we have chosen to debate all of | :25:48. | :25:50. | |
these matters is that they `re licked. The debate is also, rightly, | :25:51. | :25:58. | |
because it is also partly about this imbalance in the UK economy. That in | :25:59. | :26:04. | |
balance, or more accurately those imbalances, are now actuallx | :26:05. | :26:07. | |
recognised by this government, but our judgment is they will not and | :26:08. | :26:11. | |
cannot be resolved firstly without the real political will to do so | :26:12. | :26:17. | |
we are discussing today are fully we are discussing today are fully | :26:18. | :26:23. | |
and properly addressed as wdll. The imbalances we talked of in the | :26:24. | :26:27. | |
economy are not simply betwden England and Scotland, or London and | :26:28. | :26:32. | |
the rest of the UK, a city previously described by a mhnister | :26:33. | :26:35. | |
as a black hole sucking the sources and talent out of everywherd else in | :26:36. | :26:44. | |
the UK, but also, still, sadly, imbalances between manufacttring and | :26:45. | :26:47. | |
services, between businesses which export and those which do not, | :26:48. | :26:52. | |
between companies which innovate and those which do not. And the impact | :26:53. | :26:59. | |
of all of this is most starkly seen in the balance of trade numbers For | :27:00. | :27:06. | |
the full year in 2014, the TK ran a balance of trade deficit of ?93 | :27:07. | :27:13. | |
billion. For the same year, the deficit in the trade and goods was | :27:14. | :27:21. | |
quite extraordinary ?123 billion. That is ?123 billion in the red | :27:22. | :27:30. | |
simply in the trade and goods. And the impact in GDP, as is well-known | :27:31. | :27:35. | |
and published by the governlent was negative, and, unsurprisingly, the | :27:36. | :27:40. | |
summer Budget confirmed it would remain negative through every single | :27:41. | :27:43. | |
year of the forecast period in this Parliament. Through two 2020. He | :27:44. | :27:53. | |
referred to Japan in his introductory remarks. | :27:54. | :27:56. | |
He will not have missed the fact that Europe has been in recdssion | :27:57. | :28:00. | |
for much of the period that this economy has been growing and has an | :28:01. | :28:03. | |
inevitable impact on our balance of trade, our biggest partners. | :28:04. | :28:09. | |
I will come to that. If the trade deficit was simply a conseqtence of | :28:10. | :28:13. | |
the deep recession, then thd honourable gentleman would be right, | :28:14. | :28:17. | |
but as I will demonstrate l`ter this is not an issue that has gone on for | :28:18. | :28:23. | |
five years or ten years, or 20 years, or 30 years, but 50 xears, | :28:24. | :28:30. | |
and this is the issue, this deep, underlying, systemic issue hs the | :28:31. | :28:32. | |
one that we actually need to address. I was saying the | :28:33. | :28:38. | |
contribution to GDP is negative for the entire forecast period `nd that | :28:39. | :28:42. | |
was published in the summer Budget, and again in the Autumn Statement, | :28:43. | :28:46. | |
but those figures, worryingly, were actually marked down, actually worse | :28:47. | :28:52. | |
than the corresponding forecast published in the spring Budget | :28:53. | :28:56. | |
before the election. What wd are seeing is not a stabilisation, isn't | :28:57. | :29:02. | |
a recovery which allows somd sense of normality, but a continuhng | :29:03. | :29:07. | |
decline, and that would appdar brash and I will demonstrate this later, I | :29:08. | :29:11. | |
hope - in terms of almost every metric we look at. | :29:12. | :29:16. | |
Does the Honourable Member `lso accept that the OBR expects | :29:17. | :29:20. | |
productivity growth to return to its historic average by the end of 017? | :29:21. | :29:26. | |
I have seen the OBR forecasts, I will quote some of them latdr, but I | :29:27. | :29:30. | |
am also taken with what the Chancellor said more recently than | :29:31. | :29:35. | |
the last OBR forecast, which is it is not now Mission accomplished | :29:36. | :29:39. | |
almost as if he is getting his excuses in first and preparhng to | :29:40. | :29:45. | |
blame other people. I have seen the OBR forecast, but things ard not all | :29:46. | :29:48. | |
hunky-dory, everything in the garden is not rosy, and given we are | :29:49. | :29:55. | |
looking at GDP growth over ` decade worse than Japan's lost dec`de, it | :29:56. | :30:00. | |
would be wrong to be complacent in the way some of her governmdnt are | :30:01. | :30:05. | |
doing. When the Chancellor said to the | :30:06. | :30:09. | |
country at large and the Tory press in particular that the country was | :30:10. | :30:16. | |
in... The economy was running into the buffers, wasn't he really | :30:17. | :30:19. | |
demonstrating that the long,term economic plan was just a mirage | :30:20. | :30:27. | |
The honourable gentleman is absolutely right, the long-term | :30:28. | :30:33. | |
economic plan is a sound bite. It was predicated on the deficht being | :30:34. | :30:37. | |
reduced, the debt being redtced the borrowing falling to nearly ?20 | :30:38. | :30:44. | |
billion last year. Every single one of the targets the government set | :30:45. | :30:49. | |
they failed to meet. The Ch`ncellor did not meet a single one of their | :30:50. | :30:54. | |
key fiscal targets he set for himself in the last Parliamdnt. But | :30:55. | :31:02. | |
the key thing about the imp`ct of trade and exports on GDP is that it | :31:03. | :31:08. | |
is negative and has been marked down. I would ask the hosts to think | :31:09. | :31:14. | |
just how different that is to the promise, that reality is to the | :31:15. | :31:20. | |
promise made by the Chancellor when he stated exports would be ` | :31:21. | :31:24. | |
significant contributor to GDP growth primarily to shift the | :31:25. | :31:27. | |
economy away from our reliance on household consumption. As wd saw | :31:28. | :31:34. | |
yesterday, because industri`l exports are down and they are likely | :31:35. | :31:39. | |
to continue to fall, certainly not to grow in the way he has promised, | :31:40. | :31:45. | |
we will continue to have a dependence on household consumption | :31:46. | :31:49. | |
and a rise in household debt which would be inconsistent with ` | :31:50. | :31:54. | |
properly rebalanced economy. I think a great deal of private | :31:55. | :31:57. | |
sector industrial investment over the last 30 years has been connected | :31:58. | :32:00. | |
with the oil industry, and thinking of the threat to jobs and working | :32:01. | :32:04. | |
families in Scotland in particular, would my honourable friend comment | :32:05. | :32:10. | |
system of exploration credits, successfully introduced in Norway | :32:11. | :32:13. | |
some years ago, to kick-start exploration as one ways of | :32:14. | :32:17. | |
addressing this crisis? After 30 years of raking in ?30 | :32:18. | :32:21. | |
billion of revenue, shouldn't it be payback time for North Sea workers? | :32:22. | :32:28. | |
It certainly should in the sense that this sector is not simply | :32:29. | :32:33. | |
important for Aberdeen or for Scotland, but for a supply chain | :32:34. | :32:36. | |
throughout the UK. Indeed, `s the Right honourable gentleman for | :32:37. | :32:45. | |
Rutland said at First Minister s Questions, you laid out his | :32:46. | :32:47. | |
question, the potential dam`ge should the sector continue to | :32:48. | :32:52. | |
suffer. -- he laid out. This government should do many things. | :32:53. | :32:58. | |
Continue to protect people who want to enter that sector, that they are | :32:59. | :33:04. | |
properly trained, to continte to support the supply chain in the | :33:05. | :33:07. | |
north sea basin and internationalise. They should look | :33:08. | :33:13. | |
again at supporting the indtstry as it cuts costs. They should look at | :33:14. | :33:16. | |
the overall fiscal framework, because that is our substantial | :33:17. | :33:21. | |
cost, and look again at all of the credits available, explorathon or | :33:22. | :33:30. | |
production, geographic areas or for specific all types, to absolutely | :33:31. | :33:33. | |
maximise the longevity and employment and contribution to the | :33:34. | :33:38. | |
economy of a sector which, `gain he is right to remind the government, | :33:39. | :33:46. | |
has raked in for them more than ?300 billion since oil started coming | :33:47. | :33:52. | |
ashore. Does he see any inconsistency in the | :33:53. | :33:56. | |
answer which he has just given to his colleague between incre`sing our | :33:57. | :34:02. | |
looking for ways of increashng the output of North Sea oil and the | :34:03. | :34:08. | |
Scottish National Party's or name of totally decarbonising energx | :34:09. | :34:13. | |
production in Scotland? -- the Scottish National Party's t`rget. | :34:14. | :34:19. | |
I think the decarbonisation of electricity production is a sensible | :34:20. | :34:22. | |
thing for large numbers of reasons, and that may well include c`rbon | :34:23. | :34:26. | |
capture and storage. Of course we have seen on a number of occasions | :34:27. | :34:30. | |
over the last five years, vdry recently with this government, the | :34:31. | :34:33. | |
cancellation of the competition to actually develop an industrhal sized | :34:34. | :34:39. | |
test-bed to show the efficacy of this technology which would make us | :34:40. | :34:46. | |
a world leader. I will make a little progress and then happily ghve way. | :34:47. | :34:54. | |
When we are talking about exports, remember when the Chancellor said in | :34:55. | :34:59. | |
his 2012 speech about acknowledging the UK's falling share of world | :35:00. | :35:05. | |
exports, still said we wantdd to double exports to ?1 trillion this | :35:06. | :35:11. | |
decade. Mr Speaker, total export sales in 2013 were ?521 billion A | :35:12. | :35:22. | |
reasonable start. That fell to 13 billion in 2014. The numbers are | :35:23. | :35:26. | |
moving in the wrong direction, yet the Chancellor and this govdrnment | :35:27. | :35:31. | |
in this Parliament still expect us to believe exports could effectively | :35:32. | :35:37. | |
double over that period. Indeed I think the OBR's most recent | :35:38. | :35:43. | |
forecasts suggest we will mhss that target by around 500 and us back to | :35:44. | :35:49. | |
?350 billion. The targets sdt are set to let -- simply unachidvable. | :35:50. | :35:58. | |
-- miss that target by ?350 billion. The jobs of a growing number of | :35:59. | :36:03. | |
people depend on a thriving export market. It hopes and aspirations of | :36:04. | :36:06. | |
the people in Scotland and throughout the UK for a real, | :36:07. | :36:11. | |
rebalanced economy must depdnd more on the rhetoric and pipe drdams of | :36:12. | :36:17. | |
an out of touch Chancellor. But that was not the start and end of the | :36:18. | :36:23. | |
Chancellor's and the governlent s rhetoric on exports. They ddscribed | :36:24. | :36:26. | |
how they wanted to make the UK the best place in Europe to start and | :36:27. | :36:30. | |
grow businesses, encourage investment and exports as a route to | :36:31. | :36:34. | |
the more balanced economy wd want to see. He said, and I will quote, so, | :36:35. | :36:41. | |
this is our plan for growth. We want the words made in Britain, created | :36:42. | :36:46. | |
in Britain, designed, invented in Britain, to drive the UK for Britain | :36:47. | :36:52. | |
carried aloft by the march of the makers, powerful words and, given | :36:53. | :36:56. | |
the reality, no more than r`ther empty rhetoric. | :36:57. | :37:02. | |
I am grateful to him for giving way. He is right to point out thd | :37:03. | :37:08. | |
importance of exports, although the gap has been consistently f`lling in | :37:09. | :37:12. | |
the last two years, but would he not agree the way to increase exports is | :37:13. | :37:15. | |
through innovation, new technology and through investment much all of | :37:16. | :37:23. | |
which, by being part a largdr UK through the technology strategy | :37:24. | :37:26. | |
board he is likely to get in greater quantities than if Scotland were on | :37:27. | :37:30. | |
its own? I agree with the honourable | :37:31. | :37:35. | |
gentleman's assessment that we need more innovation, or exports, more | :37:36. | :37:39. | |
technology and investment, `nd I would come to all of these things. | :37:40. | :37:44. | |
We will have a debate he and I, the government and I come over precisely | :37:45. | :37:47. | |
what it is the government are doing, because I think his assertion that | :37:48. | :37:50. | |
being part of the UK will allow these things to be happening and be | :37:51. | :37:59. | |
bigger is tenuous at best and not actually confirmed by the rdality. | :38:00. | :38:03. | |
But back to the Chancellor's overblown march of the makers | :38:04. | :38:08. | |
speech. If those words appe`red far-fetched when he first s`id them, | :38:09. | :38:15. | |
they really do now in light of the reality, shallow and empty, when | :38:16. | :38:20. | |
confronted with what is going on. I also note that this links into the | :38:21. | :38:26. | |
intervention, that in the l`st Party, another Tory lead government | :38:27. | :38:31. | |
released a press release about business investment, are balanced | :38:32. | :38:34. | |
and sustainable economy, all of the things being discussed, boasted of | :38:35. | :38:39. | |
investment into the green investment bank, another institution which we | :38:40. | :38:43. | |
supported which we believe had and indeed did deliver support `nd | :38:44. | :38:51. | |
growth in a new industry but which now, incredibly, has been | :38:52. | :38:54. | |
systematically undermined bx this government. As is the commitment to | :38:55. | :38:57. | |
the green economy generally by many of the changes which they h`ve | :38:58. | :38:59. | |
announced since last May. one of the levers that is at the | :39:00. | :39:11. | |
disposal of any Government of increasing exports is to | :39:12. | :39:13. | |
aggressively push new free-trade agreements. Would you agree with the | :39:14. | :39:19. | |
SNP have been less than fulsome in their support for free-tradd | :39:20. | :39:22. | |
agreements around the world, particularly T10, the SNP edition is | :39:23. | :39:29. | |
opaque at best? Desmond T10. It is not opaque. Let me be reallx clear | :39:30. | :39:34. | |
she honourable gentleman. Wd welcome trade agreements. We think trade | :39:35. | :39:38. | |
agreements in general are a good thing. However, we will not counter | :39:39. | :39:42. | |
a trade agreement which opens the door to the systematic undermining | :39:43. | :39:50. | |
of our essential public services. That was not opaque, that w`s | :39:51. | :39:57. | |
absolutely crystal clear. Mr Speaker, we need rather mord than | :39:58. | :40:03. | |
words from this Government. Its action that we need in order to | :40:04. | :40:08. | |
reverse a number of the declines, particularly in manufacturing. | :40:09. | :40:11. | |
Indeed, to ensure that what I said at the beginning and the last | :40:12. | :40:15. | |
quarter's following manufactured output does not become a pattern. | :40:16. | :40:22. | |
That will at least in part, and this again answers the interventhon, | :40:23. | :40:27. | |
require more innovation. Th`t is as much a part, I've given alrdady | :40:28. | :40:35. | |
that is as much a part of btilding a larger, more productive and faster | :40:36. | :40:38. | |
growing manufacturing base `s it is important in its own right. And we | :40:39. | :40:44. | |
know about the positive imp`ct from innovation from many sources, not | :40:45. | :40:50. | |
least the recent PwC global innovation survey. It is confirmed | :40:51. | :40:54. | |
what it described as a direct link between companies which focts on | :40:55. | :40:58. | |
innovation and successfully grow faster. Indeed, we know what I'm | :40:59. | :41:04. | |
sure the minister will know, the UK's most innovative companhes grew | :41:05. | :41:08. | |
an average of 50% faster th`n the least innovative but we also know | :41:09. | :41:12. | |
there are substantial probldms to be overcome. So while 32% of UK | :41:13. | :41:21. | |
companies so innovation as very important, to their success, the | :41:22. | :41:28. | |
global figure was 43%. Whild 16 of UK companies so product in division | :41:29. | :41:32. | |
-- innovation is a priority in the coming year, that was barelx half | :41:33. | :41:40. | |
the global figure. Most worrying the UK, Scotland and image of the UK, | :41:41. | :41:43. | |
has a clear competitive adv`ntage in the university sector in many ways, | :41:44. | :41:47. | |
a significantly lower proportion of our businesses land to coll`borate | :41:48. | :41:51. | |
with academics than their international competitors. H would | :41:52. | :41:56. | |
like to say a little on that about the approach we have taken hn | :41:57. | :42:01. | |
Scotland specifically to de`l with that issue. There has been funding | :42:02. | :42:07. | |
approved for five new innov`tion centres, industrial biotech and | :42:08. | :42:12. | |
agriculture, big data and construction. That funding hs put in | :42:13. | :42:16. | |
place to build on the original three centres launched three years ago | :42:17. | :42:20. | |
which covered medicine, centres of imaging and digital health. Growing | :42:21. | :42:27. | |
areas for the future. Also the provision essentially of 78 million | :42:28. | :42:34. | |
pounds to help the developmdnt of 1000 new inventions, products or | :42:35. | :42:38. | |
services. Cas which also, and this addresses the international | :42:39. | :42:42. | |
comparison, which will also support 1200 businesses directly work with | :42:43. | :42:50. | |
universities. The UK, of cotrse has Innovate UK and we have looked | :42:51. | :42:55. | |
closely at its delivery plan and there are things which the SNP would | :42:56. | :42:58. | |
least the 1.5 billion global challenge fund. The overall policy | :42:59. | :43:06. | |
that sees Innovate UK's funding model being changed so that by 020 | :43:07. | :43:14. | |
165 million of innovation Grants will be delivered as loans sent out | :43:15. | :43:20. | |
all the wrong signals and wd are concerned might suppress essential | :43:21. | :43:25. | |
innovation compared to our international competitors even | :43:26. | :43:30. | |
further. That was the fear confirmed by KPMG's head of small bushness | :43:31. | :43:33. | |
accounting when he said the measure was, and I quote, "A false dconomy | :43:34. | :43:39. | |
that threatens to store the growth of small businesses." I will happily | :43:40. | :43:43. | |
give way. Thank you. Would he agree that it sends all the blogs that are | :43:44. | :43:47. | |
wrong signals to companies that I think you're investing becatse what | :43:48. | :43:50. | |
it is saying is that the future is uncertain with this Governmdnt? | :43:51. | :43:56. | |
Indeed it does. If one looks at some of the quotes from businessds when | :43:57. | :44:00. | |
this was announced, they were extremely clear. They are h`ppy to | :44:01. | :44:05. | |
seek bank funding and use their own resources. When they are undertaking | :44:06. | :44:10. | |
what might be slightly riskx innovation and are in steep, there | :44:11. | :44:13. | |
is no expectation there might be a little help from Government. That | :44:14. | :44:18. | |
makes it is an expectation that if that is a grant the work can | :44:19. | :44:22. | |
proceed, the thinking can go ahead, if it's alone requiring to be repaid | :44:23. | :44:28. | |
that might tip the balance hn favour of the risk being too great and | :44:29. | :44:31. | |
driving down innovation even further. The reason innovathon is so | :44:32. | :44:36. | |
vital, particularly in manufacturing, and why it's so | :44:37. | :44:40. | |
important to encourage it, hs that over the past 20 years as it has | :44:41. | :44:45. | |
fallen, as a share of an Sthaan van Zyl and, manufacture outputs it | :44:46. | :44:53. | |
exports jobs and manufacturhng output have also fallen. -- as a | :44:54. | :44:57. | |
share of manufacturing outptt. One can see the speed and length of this | :44:58. | :45:03. | |
decline from 30% of the economy in the 1970s to less than 10% today. | :45:04. | :45:11. | |
From more than 20% of all jobs in the 1980s to only 8% today. From a | :45:12. | :45:16. | |
quarter of all business invdstment in the 1990s to barely 15% today. We | :45:17. | :45:24. | |
see the reduction in global export market share, in the OBR fiscal | :45:25. | :45:33. | |
forecast, the most recent comics should be falling throughout the | :45:34. | :45:36. | |
forecast period to the end of this Parliament. What is more worrying, | :45:37. | :45:40. | |
Mr Speaker, is that the figtres in the November forecast are actually | :45:41. | :45:45. | |
marks down in every single xear from the July forecast. Everything is | :45:46. | :45:51. | |
going in the wrong direction and complacency from the Governlent and | :45:52. | :45:55. | |
the plan they have, the limhted plan they have in place, is simply no | :45:56. | :46:01. | |
longer enough. That is why we now need an unrelenting focus on | :46:02. | :46:07. | |
innovation in manufacturing, one second, English and to tradd and | :46:08. | :46:11. | |
exports. I will give way. I'm grateful. I do welcome this debate | :46:12. | :46:15. | |
and his focus on rebalancing the stop it a huge issue but whdn we | :46:16. | :46:19. | |
talk about rebalancing the dconomy we have to remember that thd | :46:20. | :46:21. | |
recession we had into thous`nd and eight because it was financhal, was | :46:22. | :46:25. | |
inevitably followed by monetary policy eating the floor and | :46:26. | :46:30. | |
perpetuating high house prices, all those things you want to avoid as an | :46:31. | :46:34. | |
economics as it has met Mrs D. Does he regret the role his partx played | :46:35. | :46:38. | |
in advising Royal Bank of Scotland to precious baby and downright usher | :46:39. | :46:43. | |
in the financial crash to bring down are furniture giant? There hs a | :46:44. | :46:51. | |
historic disconnect, Mr Spe`ker The fight over ABN Amro was between the | :46:52. | :46:58. | |
board of RBS and the board of Barclays. One of them called it | :46:59. | :47:02. | |
wrong and one of them got ltcky I suspect that my input and the input | :47:03. | :47:06. | |
of my honourable friends had precisely no bearing whatsodver on | :47:07. | :47:11. | |
Mr Goodman's decision to persuade his boards to buy ABN and broke | :47:12. | :47:20. | |
Quite extraordinary. I have said we need an underwriting focus on | :47:21. | :47:23. | |
innovation in manufacturing in relation to trade and exports | :47:24. | :47:27. | |
because although it suffered the largest falls and because the | :47:28. | :47:32. | |
deficit in trade in goods is so large, manufacturing still `ccounts | :47:33. | :47:41. | |
for 44% of all UK exports. @ny Government is about rebalancing the | :47:42. | :47:45. | |
economy correcting the tradd deficit in goods that have a laser-like | :47:46. | :47:52. | |
focus on encouraging innovation in manufacturing as well as currently | :47:53. | :47:55. | |
supporting existing exporting businesses. This debate is lore than | :47:56. | :48:02. | |
just about innovation manuf`cturing and exports, it's about boosting | :48:03. | :48:07. | |
productivity. Vital because we know, this is undisputed, both Scotland | :48:08. | :48:10. | |
and the UK said only towards the top of the third quartile of advanced | :48:11. | :48:17. | |
countries by GDP per hour worked. Below many smaller European | :48:18. | :48:21. | |
countries had importantly bdlow major competitors like the TS, | :48:22. | :48:28. | |
Germany, France and even It`ly. I am pleased that Scottish output is now | :48:29. | :48:33. | |
4% higher than precrisis levels that is a good thing, but clearly | :48:34. | :48:37. | |
there is substantially more to be done. Not least because we know that | :48:38. | :48:41. | |
you keep productivity growth is now you keep productivity growth is now | :48:42. | :48:46. | |
1.3% a year, that is barely half the level of the 2% precrisis r`te. We | :48:47. | :48:52. | |
know in Scotland there is a plan, an know in Scotland there is a plan, an | :48:53. | :48:58. | |
economic plan based on four principles to boost producthvity. In | :48:59. | :49:00. | |
investment in education infrastructure, internation`lisation | :49:01. | :49:04. | |
and encouraging exports innovation we have discussed, being essential, | :49:05. | :49:10. | |
aspect, inclusive growth. That aspect, inclusive growth. That | :49:11. | :49:16. | |
latter point is vital because we know from the numbers, we'vd all | :49:17. | :49:20. | |
seen them, that the UK lost 9% of GDP growth between 1990 and 201 | :49:21. | :49:28. | |
because of rising inequalitx and we are concerned this is a mistake | :49:29. | :49:34. | |
being repeated by this Government with its arbitrary surplus fiscal | :49:35. | :49:38. | |
rules requiring it to cut f`r more than is necessary to run a balanced | :49:39. | :49:44. | |
economy and undermining, diluting the Government of resources needed | :49:45. | :49:50. | |
to tackle inequality and actually maximise economic growth. I will | :49:51. | :49:56. | |
happily give way. I'm grateful for the honourable member giving way. He | :49:57. | :50:00. | |
reversed with positivity to the figures in Scotland. Is he `ware | :50:01. | :50:04. | |
that boarding to the BBC Two hours ago Scotland's economy grew slightly | :50:05. | :50:07. | |
over the summer but continudd to lag behind UK as a whole accordhng to | :50:08. | :50:14. | |
official figures? Absolutelx first I was describing the growth shnce the | :50:15. | :50:18. | |
precrisis level. The court during the quarter on quarter yearly | :50:19. | :50:24. | |
figures are undeniable. That's why all I said we all have far lore to | :50:25. | :50:28. | |
do. I make criticisms of thd Government where they are v`lid but | :50:29. | :50:31. | |
I will not deny the numbers. I hope the honourable lady might w`nt to | :50:32. | :50:37. | |
welcome the fact we are now 4% ahead of precrisis levels, notwithstanding | :50:38. | :50:40. | |
some of the difficulties we've seen in the North Sea. There is puite a | :50:41. | :50:45. | |
remarkable achievement when all of the actions of the Scottish | :50:46. | :50:48. | |
Government and limited powers are actually brought to bear, and in | :50:49. | :50:51. | |
terms of the deployment of those powers, the Minister is chuntering | :50:52. | :50:59. | |
away on the Treasury bench `s she is want to do. She will be throwing her | :51:00. | :51:05. | |
arms in the air harrumphing she wants to intervene. I'm happy to | :51:06. | :51:13. | |
have the debate. In terms of the powers that have been deploxed in | :51:14. | :51:16. | |
Scotland, we also have a Scottish business pledge which requires films | :51:17. | :51:25. | |
Comintern of Scottish agenches supports, to seek to innovate as | :51:26. | :51:29. | |
take expert opportunities and to pay the living wage as a part of the | :51:30. | :51:34. | |
solution to tackling inequality and delivering the inclusive growth to | :51:35. | :51:40. | |
avoid the loss of GDP output we saw in the 20 years to 2010. Repuires | :51:41. | :51:47. | |
firms who want Scottish agency. I would encourage them to takd a | :51:48. | :51:52. | |
similar approach, not least because are concerned about a lack of | :51:53. | :51:55. | |
balance and the need for action to tackle the ongoing productivity | :51:56. | :52:03. | |
challenge is shared by the HMF, often in aid of this Governlent The | :52:04. | :52:08. | |
IMF make the point about thd need to listen wealth inequality. They make | :52:09. | :52:10. | |
the point about the need to have increased spending on infrastructure | :52:11. | :52:16. | |
and they also call for enhanced focus on decentralisation. H will | :52:17. | :52:22. | |
happily give way. I'm grateful to the honourable gentleman. Hd's | :52:23. | :52:26. | |
making some very important points about inequality. And the ilportance | :52:27. | :52:32. | |
that the Government does not seem to be serious about addressing | :52:33. | :52:36. | |
sustainable inequality, thex need to be investing more on people in low | :52:37. | :52:44. | |
income and would using the gap - reducing the gap between people of | :52:45. | :52:47. | |
low income. Interestingly point about productivity in relathon to | :52:48. | :52:53. | |
this. Since 2006 what has the SNP been able to do to reduce the | :52:54. | :52:56. | |
productivity gap? I do not have a 2006 to datd figure. | :52:57. | :53:12. | |
I will happily provide that if I can get that number. But the entire | :53:13. | :53:17. | |
point of tackling the attainment gap, about health, investing, | :53:18. | :53:22. | |
supporting innovation, encotraging export, supporting, promoting and | :53:23. | :53:26. | |
helping the delivery of paylent of the living wage, everything which | :53:27. | :53:29. | |
can be done is being done and must be done, because it is all part of a | :53:30. | :53:36. | |
project of lessening inequality to deliver precisely the inclusive | :53:37. | :53:40. | |
growth that avoids the shortfall in economic growth which we have seen | :53:41. | :53:46. | |
by the UK Government. I was making the point about some of the demand | :53:47. | :53:49. | |
is by the IMF, and one of those was the enhanced focus on | :53:50. | :53:54. | |
decentralisation. It is somdthing which is vital if we are to | :53:55. | :53:59. | |
effectively use all the tools at our disposal to tackle the economic | :54:00. | :54:04. | |
challenges we face. Let me give one example. Research and development | :54:05. | :54:08. | |
tax credits to support innovation are a function of corporation tax, | :54:09. | :54:11. | |
but as corporation tax is not devolved to Scotland one of the most | :54:12. | :54:17. | |
important tools to help support that research is actually denied to the | :54:18. | :54:19. | |
Scottish Government in their efforts to build on the work alreadx being | :54:20. | :54:26. | |
put in place. That, frankly, in terms of the challenges we `ll face, | :54:27. | :54:31. | |
is illogical. I will give w`y on that point. | :54:32. | :54:35. | |
I am grateful to him for giving way, and he is right to highlight the | :54:36. | :54:42. | |
role that devolved instituthons can play in helping to boost | :54:43. | :54:45. | |
productivity. Can I comment to him the work of the greater Manchester | :54:46. | :54:49. | |
combined authority, who in their new devolved functions have awarded | :54:50. | :54:57. | |
funding to an English firm to be able to open a ?5.8 million cotton | :54:58. | :55:03. | |
mill in my constituency, thd first cotton mill to open in greater | :55:04. | :55:08. | |
Manchester for over 40 years? I welcome that intervention. I | :55:09. | :55:11. | |
welcome that no, I hope it hs important point. There is no point | :55:12. | :55:22. | |
in devolving powers, whether it is to Northern Ireland, Scotland, | :55:23. | :55:25. | |
Wales, or anywhere else, thdre is no point devolving responsibilhties | :55:26. | :55:31. | |
unless the funding and the `bility and authority to raise the cash goes | :55:32. | :55:35. | |
with it. That is the weakness in some of the asymmetric devolution | :55:36. | :55:41. | |
this government has put in place. However, the government we believe | :55:42. | :55:48. | |
should look again at its decision to replace 165 million of innovation | :55:49. | :55:50. | |
grants with loans. We believe it should deliver real devoluthon, not | :55:51. | :55:56. | |
least of corporation tax and its associated credits, so thosd tools | :55:57. | :56:02. | |
are able and available to all of the devolved administrations to maximise | :56:03. | :56:07. | |
R support. I will give wax. While he is on the subject of | :56:08. | :56:09. | |
Northern Ireland, we now have record Northern Ireland, we now have record | :56:10. | :56:12. | |
employment here. We have higher levels of | :56:13. | :56:16. | |
international development and investment than at any other time in | :56:17. | :56:20. | |
history. Having a strong devolved aspect of trade investment helps | :56:21. | :56:26. | |
competitiveness of the UK rdgions competitiveness of the UK rdgions | :56:27. | :56:32. | |
and in particular Northern Hreland. Absolutely, the more we can devolve, | :56:33. | :56:35. | |
not just authority but real power, the more people on the ground can do | :56:36. | :56:39. | |
that, it is self-evidently the case. Your talk of record on clim`te is | :56:40. | :56:44. | |
good, I think there is near record employment almost everywherd. The | :56:45. | :56:48. | |
issue is not flat. The issud is that real term wages have fallen and | :56:49. | :56:52. | |
remain five points lower th`n precrisis. If we are to drag living | :56:53. | :56:57. | |
these things as well, but in general these things as well, but in general | :56:58. | :57:01. | |
terms the devolution of real power is absolutely right. The government | :57:02. | :57:08. | |
should recognise in terms of these elements of transferring power, | :57:09. | :57:13. | |
there requires a comprehenshve solution to productivity in covering | :57:14. | :57:19. | |
investment, infrastructure, internationalisation, innov`tion and | :57:20. | :57:21. | |
the policies to deliver inclusive growth. They should recognise that | :57:22. | :57:27. | |
the rebalancing of the economy needs a focus, not just on London versus | :57:28. | :57:31. | |
the rest of the UK, but on the growth benefits from those firms and | :57:32. | :57:36. | |
the whole economy which export and innovate and support more of them to | :57:37. | :57:41. | |
do so. And that that focus should be heavily weighted to manufacturing, | :57:42. | :57:48. | |
because the falling R, exports and output from that sector cannot be | :57:49. | :57:55. | |
allowed to continue. Above `ll, while we believe in a setting | :57:56. | :57:59. | |
ambitious targets, setting unrealistic and unachievabld export | :58:00. | :58:02. | |
targets which fly in the face of reality will simply weakened this | :58:03. | :58:06. | |
government's credibility in exactly the same way that failing to meet | :58:07. | :58:11. | |
the debt deficit and borrowhng targets did in the last Parliament. | :58:12. | :58:17. | |
To set a target of doubling exports without the means being put in place | :58:18. | :58:21. | |
to deliver that is bad economics and bad politics. I will turn briefly | :58:22. | :58:29. | |
to... I will not give way. To what the government have actuallx said in | :58:30. | :58:33. | |
this Parliament. The published in July fixing the foundations, a | :58:34. | :58:38. | |
document is supposed to covdr many of the areas which were discussing | :58:39. | :58:43. | |
today. It is very thin, Mad`m Deputy Speaker. Their approach to raising | :58:44. | :58:51. | |
productivity is covered by two Dilip points, a paragraph and a lhttle | :58:52. | :58:54. | |
chart. Their section on long-term investment merely confirms that | :58:55. | :59:00. | |
long-term investment, going back as far as the 1960s, has bouncdd along | :59:01. | :59:07. | |
the bottom of the OECD aver`ge, that is the 10th to 90th percenthle for | :59:08. | :59:12. | |
those who care about these things, hit the average for one year around | :59:13. | :59:18. | |
1990, and has actually falldn off the bottom of that for many years | :59:19. | :59:23. | |
since. On investment it is primarily around transport. I welcome | :59:24. | :59:29. | |
transport investment, I welcome capital investment and the hncrease | :59:30. | :59:31. | |
in capital investment in thd summer Budget, but let us be under no | :59:32. | :59:36. | |
illusions, that change only came about after the government were | :59:37. | :59:39. | |
found out cutting capital spending for every single year of thd | :59:40. | :59:42. | |
forecast period in the spring Budget. They have the audachty in | :59:43. | :59:47. | |
the Fixing the Foundations report to talk about reliable low carbon | :59:48. | :59:54. | |
energy at a price we can afford while systematically undermhning the | :59:55. | :59:57. | |
sector and the green investlent bank itself. On innovation and industry, | :59:58. | :00:04. | |
which is at the heart of thd solution to a long-term problem we | :00:05. | :00:10. | |
have three small paragraphs. What this document does, however, I am | :00:11. | :00:16. | |
sorry if the Minister is slhghtly bored hearing about our govdrnment's | :00:17. | :00:28. | |
failings, it mentions the trillion of exports by 2020. It shows are | :00:29. | :00:33. | |
moderates rise in exports to the rest of the world and the | :00:34. | :00:40. | |
catastrophic decline... The Minister is shaking his head. The | :00:41. | :00:44. | |
catastrophic decline in exports to the richest OECD countries, | :00:45. | :00:48. | |
published by the government in this Parliament. A sense of realhty is | :00:49. | :00:51. | |
probably a rather good starting point for debate. Madam Deptty | :00:52. | :00:58. | |
Speaker, each of the areas we have started to discuss today cotld form | :00:59. | :01:03. | |
a debate in their own right. We believe this motion is a st`rting | :01:04. | :01:08. | |
point to properly begin to understand and address UK Government | :01:09. | :01:16. | |
policy weakness in the area is - areas of trade, exports, | :01:17. | :01:18. | |
productivity and innovation and the fundamental rebalancing of the | :01:19. | :01:21. | |
economy and I commend the motion to the house. | :01:22. | :01:23. | |
As many as are of the opinion, say "aye". To the contrary, | :01:24. | :01:28. | |
-- the question is as on thd order paper. Minister. | :01:29. | :01:33. | |
I am very grateful to have the opportunity to come and deb`te and | :01:34. | :01:36. | |
number of the government's key economic priorities here today. Can | :01:37. | :01:43. | |
I begin by singing fulsome praise of my Cabinet colleague the Secretary | :01:44. | :01:48. | |
of State for Scotland? Not only is he outstanding as Secretary of State | :01:49. | :01:53. | |
for Scotland, but today he lade a very important announcement about | :01:54. | :02:00. | |
what in many ways it should be said should be his private life but it is | :02:01. | :02:04. | |
not it is in the public dom`in. It took huge coverage and I can say | :02:05. | :02:10. | |
that I am hugely proud to sht in the cabinet with him, and I can see all | :02:11. | :02:13. | |
of the nods on both sides, `ll around this chamber, in support of | :02:14. | :02:18. | |
our Secretary of State at what may be a difficult time for manx. I am | :02:19. | :02:22. | |
sure for him it is a very h`ppy day that finally he can be the person, | :02:23. | :02:27. | |
the man he has always been `nd the tensing out and be proud of being | :02:28. | :02:31. | |
that man. I want to pay tribute to him and I am pleased we all agree. | :02:32. | :02:35. | |
Madam Deputy is bigger, it hs absolutely right that the Sox as | :02:36. | :02:40. | |
micro-Scottish Secretary's Cabinet colleague announces this in the | :02:41. | :02:44. | |
chamber. I think that is appropriate. I think on our side we | :02:45. | :02:47. | |
would like to welcome what was said. However, in terms of the debate and | :02:48. | :02:52. | |
we still say, notwithstanding that we hope he is happy, we | :02:53. | :02:56. | |
fundamentally disagree with his politics. | :02:57. | :02:59. | |
I took that as a red, actually, and I put on record that I know the | :03:00. | :03:02. | |
First Minister for Scotland has also tweeted her support. Franklx I am | :03:03. | :03:07. | |
not surprised. In this day `nd age I think most people shrug thehr | :03:08. | :03:12. | |
shoulders and say, yes, whatever, I bothered? Of course we are not. But | :03:13. | :03:16. | |
we can celebrate what should be a happy day for him. Anyway, let's get | :03:17. | :03:20. | |
on to this debate will stop the motion before us refers to the | :03:21. | :03:24. | |
United Kingdom economy, economic growth and I wish, if I may, to take | :03:25. | :03:29. | |
a very quick trip down memory lane to set this debate in some context, | :03:30. | :03:34. | |
because it is important. Thd honourable gentleman, the mdmber for | :03:35. | :03:38. | |
Dundee East, has talked abott this government's record. I wantdd to | :03:39. | :03:41. | |
talk about the last six or seven months and the previous fivd years, | :03:42. | :03:45. | |
notably to remind everyone of the situation that we faced out in May | :03:46. | :03:51. | |
2010, because at that time ht is important to remind everybody we | :03:52. | :03:57. | |
were in the worst recession our nation had faced for 100 ye`rs. The | :03:58. | :04:03. | |
biggest Budget deficit in otr peacetime history, over 500,000 more | :04:04. | :04:09. | |
people on the dole, and that was a situation that we on this shde of | :04:10. | :04:13. | |
the house, frankly, were left to pick up. An economy brought to its | :04:14. | :04:17. | |
knees, almost on the brink of bankruptcy from lands end rhght the | :04:18. | :04:23. | |
way up to John O'Groats, from London to Inverness, all across our nation | :04:24. | :04:30. | |
we saw a country that was on its knees. To save us from that economic | :04:31. | :04:36. | |
mire, we had to take some dhfficult decisions to control spending, | :04:37. | :04:39. | |
reduce the deficit, to rescte our economy. Those decisions, every | :04:40. | :04:45. | |
single one of them, were opposed by parties sitting opposite notably the | :04:46. | :04:51. | |
opposition and indeed the Scottish National Party. Each and evdry | :04:52. | :04:56. | |
decision was opposed, and how wrong they were. But it is thanks to the | :04:57. | :05:02. | |
hard work of the British people that are economic plan has worked and it | :05:03. | :05:07. | |
continues to work. The deficit is down by more than half, there are | :05:08. | :05:14. | |
over 2.2 million more peopld now in work, and there are over 900,00 | :05:15. | :05:20. | |
more businesses. The United Kingdom has been the fastest-growing economy | :05:21. | :05:25. | |
in the advanced world and that is a record that I and other members on | :05:26. | :05:34. | |
this side of the house are proud of. In Scotland -- Scotland has been | :05:35. | :05:38. | |
part of that success story. It is unfortunate that the honour`ble | :05:39. | :05:40. | |
gentleman who represents Dundee East has just given us this long speech | :05:41. | :05:45. | |
about all of the doom and gloom and all of the stuff trotting ott this, | :05:46. | :05:50. | |
that and the other, talking down our economy, talking only Scotthsh | :05:51. | :05:55. | |
economy which is part of thd United Kingdom. That is wrong, and that is | :05:56. | :05:59. | |
sad, because there is a success story. I will give way. Isn't it | :06:00. | :06:07. | |
also interesting that in ovdr half an hour the SNP sports person | :06:08. | :06:10. | |
talking about trade, export, innovation and productivity | :06:11. | :06:14. | |
mentioned not once free markets Not once entrepreneurship? Not once | :06:15. | :06:20. | |
the power of the regulation Gretchen mac isn't it this government does | :06:21. | :06:24. | |
make a priority to focus on those issues to achieve the goals were set | :06:25. | :06:27. | |
in? I could not agree with him more. I did notice there was a lot of | :06:28. | :06:33. | |
moaning and containing but there were no solutions, ideas of fresh | :06:34. | :06:37. | |
ways of thinking. Not one it was all doom and gloom and talking down our | :06:38. | :06:42. | |
economy. I thank the Ministdr. In her history lesson about thd | :06:43. | :06:47. | |
long-term economic plan, whhch plan is she referring to? The ond from | :06:48. | :06:53. | |
the first two years, when the Chancellor was desperately trying to | :06:54. | :06:56. | |
reduce public spending? On the one that followed the first two years | :06:57. | :07:01. | |
when he listened to this side of the house and actually loosened up on | :07:02. | :07:03. | |
public spending with the result of the economy then starting to grow? | :07:04. | :07:08. | |
I am sorry the honourable gdntleman did not hear it. I am referring to | :07:09. | :07:11. | |
the long-term economic plan that delivered a deficit down by more | :07:12. | :07:17. | |
than half, 2.2 million more people in work, 900,000 more busindsses and | :07:18. | :07:21. | |
our long-term economic plan that made of this country the | :07:22. | :07:24. | |
fastest-growing economy in the advanced world. That is what I am | :07:25. | :07:29. | |
referring to and I do so with pride. Scotland has been part of that | :07:30. | :07:35. | |
success story. Since 2010, 070 000 people are worked in Scotland more. | :07:36. | :07:41. | |
-- 178,000 more people in Scotland are at work. This has been ` | :07:42. | :07:46. | |
recovery based on private sdctor growth and employment and lhving | :07:47. | :07:51. | |
within our means. Of the Scottish National Party 's and the L`bour | :07:52. | :07:55. | |
Party are wedded to abandonhng fiscal responsibility and pttting | :07:56. | :08:00. | |
our economic security at risk. On the side of the house we know the | :08:01. | :08:04. | |
job is not done. We know we have do oppose those opposite who would | :08:05. | :08:08. | |
return to the bad old ways `nd days of spending beyond our means. We | :08:09. | :08:13. | |
know that to lock in our future economic security and prospdrity we | :08:14. | :08:16. | |
need our businesses to incrdase exports, boost productivity and | :08:17. | :08:21. | |
continue to innovate to stax ahead. We believe in cutting red t`pe, as | :08:22. | :08:26. | |
the honourable gentleman my friend for Bedford has told us. We believe | :08:27. | :08:30. | |
in all of those good strong parts of our free economy which does not | :08:31. | :08:34. | |
believe in overregulating pdople that allows businesses to gdt on and | :08:35. | :08:38. | |
do business, the thing that they know best. That does not me`n to say | :08:39. | :08:42. | |
I am some ideologue, that is wedded to some free market without any | :08:43. | :08:49. | |
constraint at all. Of coursd not. I am a caring, compassionate | :08:50. | :08:52. | |
conservative. I don't believe in monopolies, I believe in | :08:53. | :08:55. | |
responsibility and all of those that do business, and that is whx I am so | :08:56. | :08:58. | |
proud that it is this government ringing forward the living wage the | :08:59. | :09:02. | |
way that we have done. This is a true benefit to workers across our | :09:03. | :09:09. | |
country, especially the lowdst paid. I am tired of that. I will give way. | :09:10. | :09:16. | |
-- I am proud of that. But she also agree that on the side | :09:17. | :09:19. | |
of the house we are equally committed to encouraging those first | :09:20. | :09:24. | |
time entrepreneurs, first-thme employers and exporters to be able | :09:25. | :09:29. | |
to do those things perhaps their parents had them done beford? We are | :09:30. | :09:36. | |
also encouraging social mobhlity. Absolutely. Of course small | :09:37. | :09:39. | |
businesses and new businessds, start-ups and as a scalar, `nd the | :09:40. | :09:43. | |
heart of everything we seem to achieve because we understand the | :09:44. | :09:47. | |
value. It takes great courage. Start their own business. We do what began | :09:48. | :09:50. | |
to start-up loans to assist them and we now have at a local level by | :09:51. | :09:56. | |
devolving through with the business growth pubs and the other mdasures | :09:57. | :10:00. | |
were put in place rice ten `t a local level to make sure th`t people | :10:01. | :10:03. | |
are in a position whereby there is help, assistance and advice to them | :10:04. | :10:06. | |
as they start-up their business and begin to grow. We've made stre in | :10:07. | :10:15. | |
particular we may do the right thing by decreasing the regulatorx burden | :10:16. | :10:18. | |
that we've achieved a lot in the last five years and we have more to | :10:19. | :10:21. | |
achieve. It will be tough btt we are determined to do that. Therd is | :10:22. | :10:26. | |
another important point you make, it is often starting up your own | :10:27. | :10:32. | |
business that is a great wax for somebody absolutely to shakd off | :10:33. | :10:36. | |
their past, some of the things in their background they have held or | :10:37. | :10:40. | |
are in danger of folding thdm back and to advance in the way that we | :10:41. | :10:45. | |
want people to do. That is what brought people like me into | :10:46. | :10:49. | |
politics. A desire to make the lives of everybody, especially those from | :10:50. | :10:52. | |
the less advantaged families and backgrounds, make their livds | :10:53. | :10:58. | |
batter. -- better. I believd these economic policy we have we will | :10:59. | :11:03. | |
continue and achieve exactlx that. I had and eight BG speaker, character | :11:04. | :11:07. | |
and to treat. I was going to give lady at -- give way over thdre. | :11:08. | :11:10. | |
Thank you. I'm glad she had not forgotten about me. She agrde there | :11:11. | :11:15. | |
is no comfort for workers under the age of 25 in this new minimtm wage | :11:16. | :11:20. | |
because they will not qualify for? They will languish in wages of about | :11:21. | :11:25. | |
?3 87 per hour, which is not good enough? Can I just say I thhnk it's | :11:26. | :11:29. | |
very interesting the number of companies who are into juichng the | :11:30. | :11:32. | |
new living wage irrespectivd of the age of their employees? -- hnto | :11:33. | :11:38. | |
juicing that I welcome that, but every good thing we do, we have to | :11:39. | :11:41. | |
have someone who comes along and Knox is and always want somdthing | :11:42. | :11:45. | |
more. There is nothing wrong with wanting more, but give credht where | :11:46. | :11:50. | |
credit is due. This is a huge achievement that I'm proud `s a | :11:51. | :11:53. | |
Conservative Party to do it. I have to say, I got to say this, H really | :11:54. | :11:59. | |
do struggle with having lessons on the economy from the Scottish | :12:00. | :12:05. | |
National Party. This is a p`rty that built its entire idea of | :12:06. | :12:07. | |
independence, which mercifully the good people of Scotland rejdcted, on | :12:08. | :12:11. | |
the fact they thought that oil was going to be the foundation of their | :12:12. | :12:19. | |
independent economy. Goodness me, we're now in a position where oil is | :12:20. | :12:25. | |
$35 a barrel and its acceptdd that the cost, if they had been | :12:26. | :12:28. | |
successful, would have been somewhere in the region of ?5,0 0 to | :12:29. | :12:33. | |
every single household. Scotland would have been in the most | :12:34. | :12:39. | |
atrocious economic place if it had voted for independence. As H say, | :12:40. | :12:43. | |
thank goodness the good people of Scotland to the wise decision that | :12:44. | :12:47. | |
we were undoubtedly better together. It is really difficult for le to | :12:48. | :12:50. | |
take lessons from this ragt`g and bobtail of the SNP that encompasses | :12:51. | :12:56. | |
everything from Tartan Torids, right across Tartan trots. It really will | :12:57. | :13:03. | |
be very interesting as the Smith report, and I will give way in a | :13:04. | :13:07. | |
moment. I'm on a roll. And he's got the bill comes into power, they will | :13:08. | :13:12. | |
finally have the powers thex seek, the most devolved Government, in a | :13:13. | :13:16. | |
moment, the most of devolved Government in the world and then | :13:17. | :13:19. | |
they will have responsibility and then we will see whether thdy will | :13:20. | :13:22. | |
be able to deliver. I would bet good money they will not be able to. The | :13:23. | :13:29. | |
lady first, then the gentlelan. I'm grateful to the Minister for giving | :13:30. | :13:35. | |
way. Very interesting speech she is making. I must challenge her on the | :13:36. | :13:39. | |
point she has made about thhs flailing economy. The Government was | :13:40. | :13:48. | |
meant to have eradicated thd debt by 2015. They have only half d`te and | :13:49. | :13:55. | |
you borrowed 73 and a half billion pounds this year. You were leant to | :13:56. | :13:58. | |
have eradicated it. You're obviously playing a positive spin on this | :13:59. | :14:05. | |
economic plan. Let's see how long it lasts. I think the Government have | :14:06. | :14:10. | |
been giving warning signs that may not last. Can I ask, based on what | :14:11. | :14:14. | |
the honourable gentleman was saying, the IMF has said if you mess war in | :14:15. | :14:20. | |
the 20% on the lowest incomds you will buy -- boost economic growth. A | :14:21. | :14:24. | |
much interest. Something thd Government has failed to default on | :14:25. | :14:27. | |
why have you not done this? Can I say to be honourable lady fhrst the | :14:28. | :14:31. | |
IMF has been awesome in its praise of our economic plan and its | :14:32. | :14:35. | |
successors, really, much as I may like the honourable lady on a | :14:36. | :14:38. | |
personal level, I'm going to struggle to take lessons. The last | :14:39. | :14:42. | |
Labour Government doubled ddbt and we have only half the deficht. I'm | :14:43. | :14:47. | |
proud of all the huffing it but you can see in her words, we sed the | :14:48. | :14:53. | |
absolute, the poor old Labotr Party and learn from the mistakes of the | :14:54. | :14:59. | |
past. Under its currently to ship, goodness knows the route it is now | :15:00. | :15:03. | |
embarking upon the middle is set in opposition for a long time. Can she | :15:04. | :15:08. | |
answer one question, has debt under this Government? Debt has gone up. | :15:09. | :15:16. | |
That is all right. It's not about scoring cheap political points, as | :15:17. | :15:21. | |
the honourable gentleman knows. Obviously I would never eng`ge in | :15:22. | :15:24. | |
such work. The honourable gdntleman cannot deny 2 million more people in | :15:25. | :15:32. | |
work, this is part of the proud record and he should be prahsing | :15:33. | :15:35. | |
that. The Labour Party would do well, actually, when we do the right | :15:36. | :15:40. | |
thing, over 2 million more people in work, why cannot give the honourable | :15:41. | :15:44. | |
gentleman give praise where praise should be given? Yes. It allost took | :15:45. | :15:49. | |
the Minister 12 minutes to revert to type. Ragtag and bobtail if she | :15:50. | :15:54. | |
likes, that is nothing comp`red to the way the Scottish people describe | :15:55. | :16:00. | |
her party. If we can clear tp one little fact on the oil pricd, I | :16:01. | :16:04. | |
thought the Minister might raise it, yes we did say it would be $110 a | :16:05. | :16:11. | |
barrel, that is correct, can we be absolutely clear that the UK | :16:12. | :16:16. | |
Government's on Department for energy and climate change at the | :16:17. | :16:20. | |
barrel price at between 114 and a a barrel and that at the very least | :16:21. | :16:25. | |
admits the UK Government got it wrong. The point is the honourable | :16:26. | :16:32. | |
gentleman and his party werd basing the whole of Scotland's economic | :16:33. | :16:39. | |
future on oil. How mad was that I will make some progress. Hang on. I | :16:40. | :16:43. | |
will give way in a moment. H want to do this piece on trade in exports | :16:44. | :16:46. | |
because I think it's really important in considering tr`de and | :16:47. | :16:49. | |
export otherwise I will be speaking for far too long and mad Dave Gisby | :16:50. | :16:55. | |
can will monitor me. We also recall the importance of the best kingdom's | :16:56. | :16:58. | |
largest domestic market and the benefits it brings. The rest of the | :16:59. | :17:07. | |
UK is going to beat Scotland's best economic partner. 73% of Scots | :17:08. | :17:10. | |
exports go to the rest of Uganda biggest threat is the party opposite | :17:11. | :17:14. | |
that would put barriers between Scotland and the rest of thd UK | :17:15. | :17:21. | |
Trading experts are a key element of June to go view the buzz on the | :17:22. | :17:23. | |
economy and White discovered is committed to heat easier for copies | :17:24. | :17:29. | |
to export. We provide wanting to export to the UK and we want to work | :17:30. | :17:34. | |
with other governments to rdduce barriers to trade. Our tradd net -- | :17:35. | :17:39. | |
deficit narrowed by 0.3 billion in the last three months to November | :17:40. | :17:42. | |
and the number of copies exporting in both the UK and Scotland is up | :17:43. | :17:47. | |
since 2010. Of course, we know we have a lot further to go. Ddlivering | :17:48. | :17:53. | |
on all of the EU's trade negotiations could add ?20 billion | :17:54. | :17:57. | |
to the UK economically each year. We know that trade agreements work In | :17:58. | :18:03. | |
the four years since the EU career arrangement agreement came hnto | :18:04. | :18:07. | |
force, the value of UK exports has more than doubled. We have seen a | :18:08. | :18:11. | |
1000% increase in the value of jet engine sales. The UK sold jtst 215 | :18:12. | :18:17. | |
cars to Korea in the final xear before the FTA was agreed. Last year | :18:18. | :18:24. | |
the number reached 13300 and 37 It is not just the big companids that | :18:25. | :18:27. | |
benefit. There is a Scottish business that was able to sdll | :18:28. | :18:32. | |
100,000 jars of jam in Kore` last year after the FTA slashed hmport | :18:33. | :18:37. | |
duties and that is why this Government is committed to | :18:38. | :18:41. | |
delivering freer global trade concluding major trade deals with | :18:42. | :18:45. | |
the US, Japan and many other trading partners and that, of coursd, will | :18:46. | :18:57. | |
bring me to tTip. In the last session I was responding to the | :18:58. | :19:00. | |
debate on teeter and I will not repeat all of the things I said in | :19:01. | :19:05. | |
that debate. But it really hs disingenuous of the party opposite | :19:06. | :19:10. | |
in this direction, and indedd in that direction as well, to oppose | :19:11. | :19:17. | |
TTIP on the three false prelise it would threaten our public sdrvices | :19:18. | :19:20. | |
and in particular the NHS. Ht is not true. As a deputy Speaker, there are | :19:21. | :19:27. | |
so many letters by way of example, the letter which one of the | :19:28. | :19:32. | |
honourable members in that debate will remember the letter wrhtten in | :19:33. | :19:36. | |
December 14 from the users of agree to be chair of the health sdlect | :19:37. | :19:40. | |
committee who ask specific puestions about whether TTIP undermindd or | :19:41. | :19:45. | |
posed any threat to our NHS and the answer was overwhelmingly come every | :19:46. | :19:50. | |
time, no. Everybody that cotld have said there is no threat frol TTIP to | :19:51. | :19:57. | |
any of our public services, especially and in particular the | :19:58. | :20:03. | |
NHS, that, people said over`ll turnover is much over and over again | :20:04. | :20:07. | |
and it's grossly unfortunatd the members opposite and parties op | :20:08. | :20:11. | |
Cit. Peddle these untruths `bout TTIP. It is simply not right and | :20:12. | :20:16. | |
fair to mislead people as they are. I will give way. I'm grateftl to the | :20:17. | :20:21. | |
Minister. There seems to be some ambiguity around this. At ldast | :20:22. | :20:25. | |
let's committee we have different evidence on that same compldtely the | :20:26. | :20:31. | |
opposite, in view of the ambiguity, why doesn't she really issud as | :20:32. | :20:34. | |
complete and save the NHS whll be exempt from TTIP in negotiations? I | :20:35. | :20:40. | |
don't know how many times I will send all of the information to the | :20:41. | :20:43. | |
honourable lady that will s`y all of these things and make it absolutely | :20:44. | :20:48. | |
clear that TTIP is not a threat to our public services and is not a | :20:49. | :20:52. | |
threat to our NHS. On the contrary, it will deliver billions of pounds | :20:53. | :20:59. | |
of wealth to our economy because it will free up trade between ourselves | :21:00. | :21:03. | |
and the USA. I think honour`ble members opposite have got to be | :21:04. | :21:07. | |
honest about it. I think thd real problem is they are pages against | :21:08. | :21:14. | |
the USA. -- is their prejudhce. Be honest because they are putting up | :21:15. | :21:20. | |
bogeys that do not exist. I thank the Minister forgiving way. If I | :21:21. | :21:23. | |
might return to the oil price and the sheer joy expressed by lembers | :21:24. | :21:28. | |
in this chamber at the coll`pse in the oil price, I look at thd man | :21:29. | :21:32. | |
sitting directly behind the Minister for the joy and delight on his face. | :21:33. | :21:40. | |
In the real world come in the consistency I represent, jobs are | :21:41. | :21:42. | |
being lost. The Minister has expressed her delight at thd fact | :21:43. | :21:46. | |
that Scotland's state in thd union, can she explained that the tnion is | :21:47. | :21:51. | |
doing dealt Scotland in his moment of need? Is not for me to speak of | :21:52. | :21:56. | |
others but I can assure you there was no joy at the falling ohl price | :21:57. | :22:00. | |
on this site. The joy, I wotld like to think, was in the point that I | :22:01. | :22:04. | |
made and made it rather well, to say that the honourable gentlem`n is in | :22:05. | :22:06. | |
the point that I made and m`de it rather well, to say that thd | :22:07. | :22:09. | |
honourable gentleman is a p`rty that all its faith in the oil prhce as | :22:10. | :22:12. | |
this are they shot their economy and they were absolutely wrong. I don't | :22:13. | :22:17. | |
know the constituency, forghve me, I suspect it is in the north-dast of | :22:18. | :22:23. | |
Scotland? He makes a good point and this is the only good point. He | :22:24. | :22:28. | |
makes a good point about thd concerns we have both the ftture of | :22:29. | :22:31. | |
the oil and gas industry, btt the oil industry in particular hn the | :22:32. | :22:37. | |
North is of Scotland. Unaware of the redundancies announced yestdrday by | :22:38. | :22:40. | |
BP and I would agree, there is much we can do. Note the week. It would | :22:41. | :22:44. | |
be good for the British Govdrnment to work with the Scottish Government | :22:45. | :22:46. | |
to make sure that we do all we can. We have a fantastic oil indtstry | :22:47. | :22:56. | |
based in Aberdeen largely, one of the finest in the world, and there | :22:57. | :23:00. | |
is much we can do working together to make sure we don't see ftrther | :23:01. | :23:05. | |
job losses, especially how we have seen. It is helpful what shd has | :23:06. | :23:11. | |
just said but she has twice now made the incorrect and false assdrtion | :23:12. | :23:16. | |
that we base any forecast only on oil, that was never true. The | :23:17. | :23:21. | |
Minister has accused others of misleading the public over the | :23:22. | :23:24. | |
approach to TTIP. I hope shd doesn't want to mislead the public over a | :23:25. | :23:31. | |
recession on the economy behng based solely on one industry. I whll give | :23:32. | :23:41. | |
away. It is a fair challengd to remind the government how ilportant | :23:42. | :23:51. | |
the oral industry is to our country. -- the oil industry. I am stre the | :23:52. | :23:57. | |
Minister hopes that the benches opposite will support that. I can't | :23:58. | :24:03. | |
add anything to that, except to say it was an extremely good pohnt well | :24:04. | :24:07. | |
made. Madam Deputy Speaker, can I move onto productivity, which is | :24:08. | :24:10. | |
obviously incredibly import`nt. Delivering a return to it is one of | :24:11. | :24:16. | |
the key economic challenges to this parliament, and a route to lay - | :24:17. | :24:19. | |
raising living standards for everyone in the UK. We have lacked | :24:20. | :24:22. | |
behind other major economies, let's be honest, for decades. Productivity | :24:23. | :24:29. | |
in Scotland is still 2.5% bdlow the United Kingdom average. It hs why we | :24:30. | :24:33. | |
are determined to fix it, and so I won't pretend there are any | :24:34. | :24:36. | |
short-term measures, this whll take some time and it will take ` lot of | :24:37. | :24:40. | |
hard work. But in the summer budget last year, the Chancellor sdt out | :24:41. | :24:44. | |
the government's ambitious plan fixing the foundations and creating | :24:45. | :24:47. | |
a more prosperous nation, and it ensures we are doing everything | :24:48. | :24:51. | |
possible to deliver higher levels of productivity in the UK. Skills and | :24:52. | :24:55. | |
education are key to improvhng productivity, and we have invested | :24:56. | :25:00. | |
in skills, delivering 2 million apprenticeships in the last | :25:01. | :25:05. | |
Parliament, and our reforms in education are already raising | :25:06. | :25:10. | |
standards. Unfortunately, under the SNP, standards of numeracy `nd | :25:11. | :25:13. | |
literacy in Scotland have bden falling, and fewer Scotland's more | :25:14. | :25:19. | |
deprived children attend a university than in any other part of | :25:20. | :25:24. | |
the United Kingdom. Just 10.3% of the poorest 20% of Scots attend | :25:25. | :25:29. | |
university, versus 18.1% in England, 16.3% in Wales and 16.3% in Northern | :25:30. | :25:36. | |
Ireland. We have also protected science spending, ?4.7 billhon per | :25:37. | :25:44. | |
year in resorts, and ?6.9 bhllion in infrastructure to 2021. And we | :25:45. | :25:48. | |
continue to invest in our c`tapult centres. We are delivering one of | :25:49. | :25:51. | |
the largest and most ambitious infrastructure programmes in recent | :25:52. | :25:57. | |
Emery, with projects such as HS , which is something I absolutely have | :25:58. | :26:00. | |
no doubt everybody should b`ck, it would bring huge benefit to our | :26:01. | :26:03. | |
country, and if I just quickly say especially to my constituency as we | :26:04. | :26:11. | |
hope to have the East Midlands hub in Totem, and of course Crossrail, | :26:12. | :26:15. | |
which has been a huge project across the capital, and of course the | :26:16. | :26:19. | |
largest investment as we sed it in our roads since the 1970s. So we are | :26:20. | :26:23. | |
beginning to see signs of improvement. Output per hour group | :26:24. | :26:29. | |
by 5% of the third quarter of 2 15 compared to the previous, and was | :26:30. | :26:33. | |
1.3% higher than the same pdriod in 2014. UK productivity has exceeded | :26:34. | :26:42. | |
its previous peak by 0.7%. Let me doing this and then I will give way | :26:43. | :26:46. | |
to the Honourable lady, but she has had two minutes, I just want to make | :26:47. | :26:49. | |
some progress. Alongside tr`de, innovation is another pillar on | :26:50. | :26:54. | |
which our economy is built. It is also an important lever for | :26:55. | :26:57. | |
increasing productivity. Thd excellent work of my colleague, the | :26:58. | :27:01. | |
science minister, has ensurdd science spending is protectdd in | :27:02. | :27:04. | |
real terms, with record levdls of investment across the UK. ?4.7 | :27:05. | :27:12. | |
billion per year, resource funding, rising with inflation, a record | :27:13. | :27:15. | |
investment in our country's scientific infrastructure at ?6 9 | :27:16. | :27:21. | |
billion to 2021. And that the government will be protecting all of | :27:22. | :27:26. | |
that in cash terms. Total spending on business led innovation through | :27:27. | :27:30. | |
Innovate UK. We recognise access to finance remains an important | :27:31. | :27:33. | |
challenge for innovative enterprises, which is why wd are | :27:34. | :27:37. | |
committed to introducing new types of finance products to support | :27:38. | :27:40. | |
companies to innovate. New products, such as loans, will replace some | :27:41. | :27:50. | |
existing Innovate UK grants and will reach ?165 million by 2019. In 014 | :27:51. | :27:55. | |
alone, more than ?2 billion was raised in venture capital in the | :27:56. | :27:59. | |
United Kingdom, that was up 50% from the previous year. I see no reason | :28:00. | :28:04. | |
why the United Kingdom can't be the's number one destination for | :28:05. | :28:09. | |
innovation and finance. I understand why the government may wish to | :28:10. | :28:13. | |
change the way in which somd of the foreign deals are financed, but | :28:14. | :28:17. | |
would she accept that given the long lead-in time from any development | :28:18. | :28:22. | |
projects that loans are not appropriate and will even ldad to | :28:23. | :28:26. | |
innovation and research going outside the United Kingdom, while | :28:27. | :28:32. | |
stopping altogether? If if H may say, we are taking time to bring | :28:33. | :28:36. | |
them in, and of course it is a mix, and in some instances it is | :28:37. | :28:40. | |
absolutely the right thing to do. That is why in other instances it | :28:41. | :28:44. | |
might be that we give a grant. I think the flexibility is thd right | :28:45. | :28:47. | |
way to approach it, because it means we can put the money that wd need | :28:48. | :28:51. | |
to, even in these difficult times, and I think we are doing at the | :28:52. | :28:54. | |
right thing, yes of course H will give way. Thank you for givhng way. | :28:55. | :29:02. | |
The report on productivity by the FSB identified late payments to | :29:03. | :29:09. | |
small businesses as one of the important ones. Would you admit it | :29:10. | :29:18. | |
is a key issue? I know therd is a good argument in favour, but we are | :29:19. | :29:22. | |
having a consultation of it. As the honourable lady knows my door is | :29:23. | :29:24. | |
open on this one, I am more than happy to have a discussion with her | :29:25. | :29:28. | |
because I know there is a powerful argument in favour. Strong `rguments | :29:29. | :29:32. | |
against it, but we are having a consultation, so maybe we could make | :29:33. | :29:35. | |
some progress on that and in deed and must make some progress on my | :29:36. | :29:40. | |
speech. But first I give wax to the honourable gentleman. Thank you Is | :29:41. | :29:45. | |
the Minister aware that yesterday the medical research council issued | :29:46. | :29:52. | |
that paper regarding the move from grants to loans, in which it said | :29:53. | :29:56. | |
the biomedical catalyst may not continue? I am not going to pretend | :29:57. | :30:01. | |
I haven't seen that paper, but I would think it is really important | :30:02. | :30:06. | |
not to comment on things yot haven't read and don't comment on things | :30:07. | :30:08. | |
that have been taken out of context. It maybe | :30:09. | :30:16. | |
one of the changes the Treasury has made is to enable ISAs to bd used to | :30:17. | :30:24. | |
enable peer-to-peer lending. Will the Minister have words with her | :30:25. | :30:33. | |
colleagues to make equity p`yments to pervert companies. The answer is | :30:34. | :30:41. | |
simply yes. This government continues to encourage business | :30:42. | :30:48. | |
investment. Through tax incdntives. Take-up of the scheme continues to | :30:49. | :30:52. | |
grow. We have 18,200 companhes claiming one point -- ?175 billion | :30:53. | :31:00. | |
of relief from ?14.3 billion of innovative investment. In Scotland, | :31:01. | :31:06. | |
there were 1045 claims giving a total relief of ?55 million. That | :31:07. | :31:12. | |
means more investment in research and development, and more hhgh-value | :31:13. | :31:17. | |
jobs and greater productivity. The government is also continuing to | :31:18. | :31:20. | |
invest in our catapult network and the first seven catapults are now | :31:21. | :31:24. | |
operating from the established facilities with total public and | :31:25. | :31:30. | |
private investment exceeding ?1 6 billion over the first five years of | :31:31. | :31:34. | |
operation, including offshore renewable energy in Glasgow, the | :31:35. | :31:38. | |
advance forming research Centre in Strathclyde, part of the high value | :31:39. | :31:42. | |
in manufacturing catapult. Because we are taking the difficult | :31:43. | :31:46. | |
decisions to fix Britain's finances, we can afford to continue to invest | :31:47. | :31:49. | |
in science and innovation from investing in Scotland's futtre, | :31:50. | :31:53. | |
helping to ensure it punches above its weight. Of course that hs the | :31:54. | :31:56. | |
point, if we have a good, solid Sound economy that is growing, then | :31:57. | :32:01. | |
we are able to do this type of work, we are able to spend taxpaydr's | :32:02. | :32:07. | |
money in this way to support our great British businesses, and in | :32:08. | :32:10. | |
particular the ones that ard so innovative in their approach and in | :32:11. | :32:18. | |
the work that they do. So, to conclude, trade, exports, | :32:19. | :32:25. | |
innovation, logo one. Thank you Before the Minister concludds, can I | :32:26. | :32:28. | |
ask her to address the issuds of the steel industry at the moment? | :32:29. | :32:35. | |
Because during that summit hn October: UK steel has enterdd a very | :32:36. | :32:37. | |
strong case for the urgent `ction the government needed to take, some | :32:38. | :32:45. | |
that the government has influence it, but can I impress on thd | :32:46. | :32:50. | |
Minister is is a difficult time for steel, yes, we have acted on energy | :32:51. | :32:56. | |
costs, but what about on thd other issues raised? I think we are | :32:57. | :33:00. | |
absolutely delivering, not just on energy costs, but how we ch`nge the | :33:01. | :33:04. | |
procurement rules. I am hugdly proud of that. She knows we are absolutely | :33:05. | :33:07. | |
determined to continue to ddliver then we can to keep what thd Prime | :33:08. | :33:11. | |
Minister has called a vital industry in production. We don't want to see | :33:12. | :33:15. | |
the blast furnaces closing `t Port Talbot any more than to see them | :33:16. | :33:17. | |
closing at Scunthorpe. If wd could have done anything, I see the Right | :33:18. | :33:32. | |
honourable lady from Runcorn, we import -- recognise the importance. | :33:33. | :33:38. | |
The same is true at Keele and flybridge. It is very important I | :33:39. | :33:47. | |
have been pleased to work whth the Deputy first versed in trying to | :33:48. | :33:51. | |
make sure we do all we can to keep those to plants open in Scotland. | :33:52. | :33:57. | |
So, Madam Deputy Speaker, trade exports, innovation and | :33:58. | :33:59. | |
productivity, all vital exponents and that is why the governmdnt has | :34:00. | :34:04. | |
developed a clear plan of action and why Scotland and indeed all parts of | :34:05. | :34:07. | |
the United Kingdom benefit from our continued commitment to these key | :34:08. | :34:11. | |
priorities. Scotland has bedn part of the economic and job success | :34:12. | :34:15. | |
story of the last six years, and our economic plan for the whole of the | :34:16. | :34:19. | |
United Kingdom continues to deliver economic security and prospdrity for | :34:20. | :34:22. | |
all of our people. The biggdst threat to businesses, growth and | :34:23. | :34:27. | |
jobs and indeed productivitx and innovation for the Scottish people | :34:28. | :34:30. | |
would see Scotland isolated and cut off from the United Kingdom, led by | :34:31. | :34:35. | |
a party who want to return to the failed policy of more spendhng, more | :34:36. | :34:38. | |
borrowing, that led us into the economic oblivion last time. The | :34:39. | :34:43. | |
let's stick to the plan that has rescued our economy from thd brink, | :34:44. | :34:46. | |
turned it into the fastest-growing economy in the advanced world and is | :34:47. | :34:51. | |
now tackling head-on for thd long-term structural issues to | :34:52. | :34:54. | |
insure not just for our children but notably for our grandchildrdn and | :34:55. | :34:58. | |
that is why I will not be stpporting this motion and I ask the honourable | :34:59. | :35:09. | |
members not to support eithdr. Can I start by giving apologies from the | :35:10. | :35:13. | |
Shadow Business Secretary, who is in Brussels today meeting the Durope | :35:14. | :35:17. | |
the commission and members of the European Parliament to disctss in | :35:18. | :35:20. | |
fact many of the issues that form part of this debate today. But I | :35:21. | :35:27. | |
want to turn my opening rem`rks to respond to some of the things the | :35:28. | :35:30. | |
Minister has said. She indulged in something of a history lesson, but | :35:31. | :35:38. | |
what happened in 2010. I relember well making the case that in 20 0 we | :35:39. | :35:46. | |
faced half the level of bushness failures compared to the parable | :35:47. | :35:52. | |
Tory sessions of the 80s and 90s. It was a record where the Labotr | :35:53. | :35:57. | |
government had protected jobs, businesses and people's homds. The | :35:58. | :36:03. | |
economy was recovering in M`y 2 10 when the coalition took offhce. That | :36:04. | :36:11. | |
recovery was choked off by the Chancellor, when he came in with the | :36:12. | :36:17. | |
emergency budget of June. And I m afraid that ever since, as we have | :36:18. | :36:22. | |
heard from members already, the recovery which has been the slowest | :36:23. | :36:27. | |
on record, and we see that hn the figures that have been disctssed | :36:28. | :36:32. | |
already, is the true record of this government, when it comes to the | :36:33. | :36:39. | |
economy, and they blew the growth that was steadily happening away | :36:40. | :36:41. | |
when they came into power as part of a coalition. I will give wax. Very | :36:42. | :36:46. | |
grateful. The honourable gentleman make some quite bold statemdnts but | :36:47. | :36:52. | |
how do they tally with the fact that Britain today, now, is the | :36:53. | :36:55. | |
fastest-growing country? How does that square with what he has said? | :36:56. | :37:03. | |
After the slowest recovery on record, growth at some point will be | :37:04. | :37:09. | |
the fastest in the world, isn't it? So it comes as no surprise. But the | :37:10. | :37:20. | |
reality is, the government has failed, I'm not going to give way to | :37:21. | :37:26. | |
make times. The government has failed in its own terms to dradicate | :37:27. | :37:31. | |
the deficit. It was the Chancellor's promised that it would be gone by | :37:32. | :37:36. | |
last year, and the government in fact has borrowed more in fhve and a | :37:37. | :37:40. | |
bit years, it had borrowed lore than the election than Labour did in 13 | :37:41. | :37:44. | |
years in government, so on hts own terms it has failed. I just want to | :37:45. | :37:49. | |
pick up the point she made `bout TTIP as well. If she wants lembers | :37:50. | :37:54. | |
on the side, from whichever party, if she wants members of the public | :37:55. | :37:59. | |
to be reassured about her, that she is not just giving warm words on | :38:00. | :38:02. | |
TTIP, she could exempt it, `nd we would be sorted. She could dxempt it | :38:03. | :38:06. | |
from public services. With the shadow minister acknowledge | :38:07. | :38:18. | |
that the UK belongs to 110 other bilateral investment treatids with | :38:19. | :38:22. | |
other countries around the world, none of which exclude public | :38:23. | :38:26. | |
services and all of which h`ve the best state dispute settlement | :38:27. | :38:30. | |
mechanism within them -- and do not believe it is the policy of either | :38:31. | :38:34. | |
the Labour Party or SNP for Britain to withdraw from any of those | :38:35. | :38:38. | |
important financial investmdnt treaties. And as I said, thd | :38:39. | :38:43. | |
minister and the Government could relieve the concerns of manx people | :38:44. | :38:47. | |
in this country, not just in this chamber, by committing to exempt | :38:48. | :38:52. | |
from public services will stop Madam Deputy Speaker. When it comds to | :38:53. | :38:58. | |
boosting productivity and otr economy, the ambitions of workers | :38:59. | :39:01. | |
and businesses are not at odds with each other. Workers do well when | :39:02. | :39:05. | |
they're successful businessds to give them secure implement. | :39:06. | :39:09. | |
Businesses do well when thex can draw and a skilled workforcd and | :39:10. | :39:12. | |
when they are selling products and services in a high wage economy We | :39:13. | :39:16. | |
have many fine businesses m`king some of the best products in the | :39:17. | :39:20. | |
world, delivering some of bdst services and developing manx of the | :39:21. | :39:24. | |
best new ideas. Those successful businesses have highly commhtted and | :39:25. | :39:26. | |
skilled workers competing whth the very best. But too many of our .2 | :39:27. | :39:34. | |
million businesses face headwinds which make this is much mord | :39:35. | :39:36. | |
difficult than it should be and often lead to closure and job losses | :39:37. | :39:44. | |
which are entirely avoidabld. We can learn from the success that in exist | :39:45. | :39:50. | |
in this country in science `nd engineering, in universities, and we | :39:51. | :39:53. | |
can learn from other countrhes as well. Success leaves clues. And in | :39:54. | :39:58. | |
those countries that are outperforming us, one strikhng | :39:59. | :40:02. | |
reason is the relationship between Government, businesses and | :40:03. | :40:05. | |
workforce, because what oftdn works in successful countries and | :40:06. | :40:10. | |
companies is a 3-way partnership for growth and productivity. Secure | :40:11. | :40:14. | |
skilled, well-paid workers. Businesses working with the | :40:15. | :40:16. | |
infrastructure and workforcd they need to expand, and a Government | :40:17. | :40:20. | |
that builds the stable foundations on which the partnership between | :40:21. | :40:24. | |
businesses and workers can grow The Business Secretary is unwilling to | :40:25. | :40:29. | |
even uttered the words industrial strategy. But that is what hs | :40:30. | :40:36. | |
needed. Industrial strategy is nothing more than Government's | :40:37. | :40:39. | |
willingness to enter a partnership with business and workers. To match | :40:40. | :40:46. | |
their ambitions by looking beyond elections cycles and investhng in | :40:47. | :40:49. | |
the infrastructure and training they need to flourish. Businesses are | :40:50. | :40:53. | |
clear on what they need frol Government. They want the Government | :40:54. | :40:58. | |
to take a long-term approach to capitalising on new technology. To | :40:59. | :41:02. | |
nurture sectors that will boost exports, to create jobs and generate | :41:03. | :41:06. | |
sustainable growth. From Grden and renewable energy to high end | :41:07. | :41:09. | |
manufacturing and digital technology, the UK is not short of | :41:10. | :41:15. | |
opportunities, of innovativd entrepreneurs that want to put the | :41:16. | :41:19. | |
UK at the global forefront of these emerging sectors, but under this | :41:20. | :41:22. | |
Government, the UK spends ldss on research as a share of GDP than | :41:23. | :41:27. | |
France, Germany, the US and China. It has embarked on real terl cuts to | :41:28. | :41:35. | |
the UK business growth servhce including the manufacturing advisory | :41:36. | :41:37. | |
service and the growth accelerator programme. It is astonishing to | :41:38. | :41:45. | |
change innovation... These `re not the actions of a Government | :41:46. | :41:48. | |
committed to playing its part in creating opportunities for the next | :41:49. | :41:51. | |
generation of entrepreneurs. The growth accelerator programmd alone, | :41:52. | :41:57. | |
it assisted more than 18,000 businesses. The ?100 million to | :41:58. | :42:02. | |
finance the accelerator programme went into developing innovative new | :42:03. | :42:07. | |
products and services, which create jobs and boost productivity. If the | :42:08. | :42:12. | |
Government wanted a partnership of business, it would not have | :42:13. | :42:15. | |
completely shutdown long-term dividends to the economy. These | :42:16. | :42:18. | |
schemes are already beginning to deliver. Scraping short-terl cuts | :42:19. | :42:27. | |
together for the Chancellor... The decision to axe these schemds is not | :42:28. | :42:31. | |
just a knee jerk reaction to departmental cuts. It speaks volumes | :42:32. | :42:35. | |
about the Government's real lack of long-term vision and commitlent to | :42:36. | :42:40. | |
businesses. Productivity cannot improve and sustainable growth | :42:41. | :42:44. | |
cannot be secured as long as this Government's message to | :42:45. | :42:47. | |
entrepreneurs and innovators is you're on your own. Businesses want | :42:48. | :42:51. | |
a trained workforce and a steady supply of skills to expand their | :42:52. | :42:56. | |
operations. In a business strvey by the DEF, the manufacturers' | :42:57. | :43:00. | |
organisation, half of manuf`cturers pointed to a skilled workforce as | :43:01. | :43:04. | |
the single most important f`ctor in Bru boosting growth and | :43:05. | :43:10. | |
productivity. Manpower Group Uk say that 30% of the largest instruction | :43:11. | :43:14. | |
companies -- construction companies have had to turn down work due to a | :43:15. | :43:18. | |
lack of skilled Labour. For all be Chancellor's talk of skills, more | :43:19. | :43:21. | |
than two thirds of businessds say they are in bad need of mord skilled | :43:22. | :43:27. | |
staff. The engines of growth in the UK, manufacturing and technology, | :43:28. | :43:33. | |
all face growing skills shortages. Once again, there is a gulf between | :43:34. | :43:37. | |
the Government's rhetoric and action. Their ?360 million hn cuts | :43:38. | :43:42. | |
from the adult skills but it will dampen the ambitions of people | :43:43. | :43:48. | |
hoping to learn the skills they need to enter the workforce and take | :43:49. | :43:53. | |
skilled jobs. -- budget. Whhlst we on this side agree with the | :43:54. | :43:58. | |
principle of an apprenticeship levy, we will be carefully examinhng the | :43:59. | :44:02. | |
details. It is vital that the policies used to drive up the | :44:03. | :44:07. | |
quality as well as the quantity of apprentices. It is important that it | :44:08. | :44:11. | |
meets the ambitions of learners as well as the needs of employdrs, and | :44:12. | :44:15. | |
it's also important that dods not become, as Seamus Nevin of the eye | :44:16. | :44:24. | |
over the side, a payroll tax that hits small and medium-size | :44:25. | :44:29. | |
businesses. -- EEF two. The details need to be watched carefullx as they | :44:30. | :44:35. | |
ensure that smaller companids are exempted. Businesses want ddcent | :44:36. | :44:42. | |
infrastructure, strategic road networks, cheaper broadband, cheap | :44:43. | :44:48. | |
energy supplies. These will generate growth, but Government's role in | :44:49. | :44:51. | |
that partnership is to build the physical infrastructure thex need to | :44:52. | :44:56. | |
operate in. Recent CBI survdys of businesses showed that nearly two | :44:57. | :44:59. | |
thirds are worried about thd slow progress of infrastructure objects | :45:00. | :45:04. | |
and they are right to be concerned. The gulf between the Governlent s | :45:05. | :45:08. | |
rhetoric and the projects they have considered is widening. The quality | :45:09. | :45:18. | |
of our infrastructure... Capital spending has halved since 2010. The | :45:19. | :45:23. | |
Government seems to be misshng two simple facts. We have world beating | :45:24. | :45:27. | |
innovators and businesses that want to expand and create jobs. They | :45:28. | :45:31. | |
cannot do this without roads, broadband and good rail and air | :45:32. | :45:35. | |
links. That is the Government's responsibility and it is fahling to | :45:36. | :45:41. | |
deliver. If the Chancellor still claims to be leading a march of the | :45:42. | :45:45. | |
makers, I am afraid the evidence shows he is reading in the wrong | :45:46. | :45:50. | |
direction entirely. Goods exported last July reached their lowdst | :45:51. | :45:54. | |
levels since September 2000 ten In the three months to November 20 5, | :45:55. | :45:59. | |
the trade deficit stood at ?7.7 billion. The truth is, the trade | :46:00. | :46:04. | |
deficit is a problem that this Government and the previous | :46:05. | :46:06. | |
Coalition Government have s`id a number of times they would `ddress. | :46:07. | :46:12. | |
In the north-east the balance of trade is positive, and a large | :46:13. | :46:18. | |
contributing factor to that was the quayside steel industry. To share my | :46:19. | :46:22. | |
anger and frustration that the Government failed to do anything to | :46:23. | :46:29. | |
save steel-making there. We hope that China will not get market | :46:30. | :46:33. | |
economy status which could put the final nail in the National steel | :46:34. | :46:38. | |
industry in this country. This is the first opportunity I havd had to | :46:39. | :46:42. | |
congratulate my honourable friend and her colleagues from the | :46:43. | :46:45. | |
steel-making areas for the fine work they have done in representhng, | :46:46. | :46:51. | |
attempting to saved the stedl industry. I will come on to the | :46:52. | :46:56. | |
steel industry later becausd I entirely agree with her. Thd | :46:57. | :47:03. | |
Chancellor said he wants to double exports to ?1 trillion by 2020. | :47:04. | :47:08. | |
Forecasts show he is set to miss this by more than ?350 billhon. In | :47:09. | :47:14. | |
other words, he will be 70% short of his target. In 2011, the Prhme | :47:15. | :47:18. | |
Minister said he intends to increase the number of UK exporters by | :47:19. | :47:25. | |
100,000 by 2020. In its anntal business survey, the ONS felt the | :47:26. | :47:31. | |
number of UK exporters actu`lly felt last year. The risk to long,term | :47:32. | :47:36. | |
growth and productivity of failing to increase exports is stark. It | :47:37. | :47:39. | |
means slower long-term growth, depressed wage growth and an even | :47:40. | :47:44. | |
more depressed rising living standards. As the chief economist in | :47:45. | :47:47. | |
the British Chamber of Commdrce said last year, unless radical mdasures | :47:48. | :47:52. | |
are taken to strengthen our export performance, our trade deficit will | :47:53. | :47:56. | |
continue to be a threat to the country's long-term economic | :47:57. | :48:00. | |
performance. But just as serious is the threat posed by a Government | :48:01. | :48:04. | |
divided over whether or not to pull plug on UK businesses' main trading | :48:05. | :48:12. | |
partner. Trade with the EU was worth ?227 billion to the UK economy last | :48:13. | :48:16. | |
year. It is a lifeline for lany businesses and for many workers The | :48:17. | :48:20. | |
risk we face is from a Government that fails to unite, wanting to | :48:21. | :48:26. | |
honour a partnership with those businesses and workers who rely on | :48:27. | :48:30. | |
EU trade with their livelihood. Instead, it is divided on whether or | :48:31. | :48:36. | |
not to kick the legs from under UK business, not least in respdct of | :48:37. | :48:39. | |
relationships which account for more than half of UK trade and which are | :48:40. | :48:44. | |
especially important for many S M Es. It is compounded by a l`g in | :48:45. | :48:50. | |
productivity. ONS statistics show that as of 2014, productivity as | :48:51. | :48:55. | |
output per hour in the UK w`s 2 % lower than the average for the rest | :48:56. | :49:00. | |
of the G-7 countries. According to the ONS last year, the absence of | :49:01. | :49:05. | |
productivity growth in seven years since 2007 is unprecedented in the | :49:06. | :49:09. | |
post-war period. Productivity has been revised down next year, the | :49:10. | :49:13. | |
year after and the year aftdr that and the gap between UK prodtctivity | :49:14. | :49:18. | |
and the rest of the G-7 is now the widest since 1991. So our long-term | :49:19. | :49:25. | |
strategy to boost trade and innovation is a partnership. The | :49:26. | :49:27. | |
partnership cannot ignore the workforce. On the contrary, it can | :49:28. | :49:32. | |
be one of our most powerful acids. A partnership between workers, | :49:33. | :49:35. | |
businesses and Government to boost productivity is a long-term vision | :49:36. | :49:40. | |
that requires a long-term commitment to investment from Government, one | :49:41. | :49:43. | |
which stretches over many parliaments and requires a large | :49:44. | :49:47. | |
degree of political as well as industrial consensus. If we truly | :49:48. | :49:54. | |
want to boost the UK's prodtctivity, manufacturing is a good place to | :49:55. | :49:58. | |
focus our attention for a ntmber of reasons. Not least because the | :49:59. | :50:02. | |
productivity benefits of industry reach far beyond itself to benefit | :50:03. | :50:06. | |
growth, skills and productivity in the UK as a whole. Manufacttrers | :50:07. | :50:12. | |
improve efficiency at a pacd and intensity that outstrips allost any | :50:13. | :50:20. | |
sector, there -- in fact, they inject three times their output in | :50:21. | :50:22. | |
the economy into improving machinery. A survey in 2015 showed | :50:23. | :50:29. | |
that 80% of their members intend to invest in machinery with thd aim of | :50:30. | :50:33. | |
improving productivity. The technology again filters out. | :50:34. | :50:45. | |
Investment in processes and systems improves efficiency and accdlerates | :50:46. | :50:51. | |
the diffusion of technology. Generating sustainable growth, | :50:52. | :50:54. | |
raising skill rebels and disbursing opportunity to every corner of the | :50:55. | :50:59. | |
country, prioritising manuf`cturing should be the cornerstone of a | :51:00. | :51:02. | |
strategy for increasing productivity. But this Government's | :51:03. | :51:06. | |
track record shows it either does not understand this or else it is | :51:07. | :51:10. | |
simply not willing to do wh`t is necessary to support the industry. | :51:11. | :51:16. | |
And as my honourable friend from Redcar says, the tragic sittation | :51:17. | :51:19. | |
which unfolded in the steel industry is a case in point. The UK steel | :51:20. | :51:23. | |
industry ran a trade surplus in all but three of the last 17 ye`rs. | :51:24. | :51:29. | |
Steel experts were worth ?6 billion to the UK in 2014, not to mdntion | :51:30. | :51:34. | |
the 20,000 families the indtstry supported. Serious challengds | :51:35. | :51:42. | |
coalesced. A glut of global supply, energy costs, the strong potnd. | :51:43. | :51:45. | |
These were difficult challenges but surmountable for a Government. I | :51:46. | :51:50. | |
will give way. Does he accept that the fundamental problem is that the | :51:51. | :51:54. | |
price of steel has almost h`lved and no Government can change th`t? And | :51:55. | :52:02. | |
of course what she says is true the price had halved, but other | :52:03. | :52:05. | |
countries in the European Union chose to intervene while we said | :52:06. | :52:10. | |
that we would not, and I'm `fraid that the record of the Government on | :52:11. | :52:17. | |
this has been woeful. With the honourable gentleman agree to send | :52:18. | :52:20. | |
me details of other governmdnts in the EU that have intervened | :52:21. | :52:26. | |
supposedly to save their stdel industries, and I will pass this on? | :52:27. | :52:30. | |
Because they must be in bre`ch of the state aid rules. We deb`ted this | :52:31. | :52:37. | |
so many times. The minister knows that some countries choose to | :52:38. | :52:42. | |
operate using the state aid rules in a far more beneficial way that we do | :52:43. | :52:48. | |
in this country. She knows that and it is about time the Governlent here | :52:49. | :52:53. | |
chose to do the same. The industry needed the Government to pl`y its | :52:54. | :52:56. | |
role in what should be a partnership. The situation demanded | :52:57. | :53:00. | |
that the Government see the long-term strategic value of steel | :53:01. | :53:04. | |
production. It needed the UK to do what other UK governments -, what | :53:05. | :53:07. | |
other governments did and moved swiftly to protect its industries. A | :53:08. | :53:12. | |
lack of strategy, willingness to make a strategic interventions and | :53:13. | :53:15. | |
unwillingness to support thd industry through practical steps | :53:16. | :53:19. | |
well within its capabilities, tackling business rates through the | :53:20. | :53:23. | |
supply chain, dealing with electricity costs, better | :53:24. | :53:25. | |
procurement practice to favour British steel armour the Government | :53:26. | :53:31. | |
failed to step up to the pl`te as a partner of industry. In doing so, it | :53:32. | :53:35. | |
turned a temporary, toxic mhx of challenges into a permanent gap in | :53:36. | :53:39. | |
our industrial make-up. This is a lesson we have to take seriously. | :53:40. | :53:43. | |
Productivity will continue to lag in the UK as long as Government sit on | :53:44. | :53:48. | |
the sidelines and wash their hands of the responsibility to safeguard | :53:49. | :53:54. | |
key industries. The aspirathon here is one everyone in the Housd will | :53:55. | :53:59. | |
agree with, and economy with high skilled, well-paid jobs, and economy | :54:00. | :54:01. | |
in which businesses will grow, export and investment to boost | :54:02. | :54:06. | |
productivity. Agreeing on the aim is one thing but the way we go about it | :54:07. | :54:11. | |
is quite another. The fact hs achieving it requires a long-term | :54:12. | :54:14. | |
partnership in which we chalpioned the workforce and business. | :54:15. | :54:17. | |
Investment, not cuts. And economy that creates we`lth not | :54:18. | :54:28. | |
relies on consumer borrowing. We need a strategy for workers, | :54:29. | :54:31. | |
business and government to work together for Britain. Government's | :54:32. | :54:35. | |
was not of an observer, it hs making sure that our exporters get the help | :54:36. | :54:41. | |
they need, taking action to boost productivity. Tackling the skills | :54:42. | :54:47. | |
agency. Safeguarding key industries. The Minister and her governlent have | :54:48. | :54:50. | |
failed on each point. They can't deliver, they won't be an active | :54:51. | :54:53. | |
part of that partnership because they don't believe in intervening. | :54:54. | :54:59. | |
Their empty rhetoric would get our economy nowhere. Only a long-term | :55:00. | :55:03. | |
industrial strategy will deliver that high-value economy will want to | :55:04. | :55:08. | |
see. A strategy of partnership and a strategy that is both pro-btsiness | :55:09. | :55:09. | |
and pro-worker. I am delighted to be called so early | :55:10. | :55:20. | |
in this important debate. I was particularly keen to catch xour eye | :55:21. | :55:23. | |
in this debate because we h`ve so few debates in this house on | :55:24. | :55:28. | |
exports, and I believe that if we are to grow our economy sustainably | :55:29. | :55:32. | |
the only way to do it is vi` increasing our exports. So this is | :55:33. | :55:37. | |
an important debate, and it is a great pity that our politics | :55:38. | :55:40. | |
produces such negativity from all the opposition parties, and matters | :55:41. | :55:46. | |
and total contrast to my right honourable friend the Brock 's tale, | :55:47. | :55:49. | |
who is so positive and outw`rd looking, and producing such good | :55:50. | :55:59. | |
policies, just a champion one or two of the achievements, becausd I am | :56:00. | :56:10. | |
passionate about exports, and I do want to see this country exporting | :56:11. | :56:19. | |
more. Just to champion some of the achievements, which I think helped | :56:20. | :56:25. | |
exports considerably, a comlitment to cut ?10 billion of red t`pe to | :56:26. | :56:30. | |
back British business and ptt resources into more producthve use, | :56:31. | :56:35. | |
on top of ?10 billion that we cut in the last parliament. We havd cut | :56:36. | :56:39. | |
corporation tax to 20%, one of the lowest rates in the G-7, and we have | :56:40. | :56:44. | |
an aspiration to cut it further Boosting skills and on top of the 3 | :56:45. | :56:58. | |
million in the last Parliamdnt, as I was saying, investing 6.9 mhllion in | :56:59. | :57:04. | |
UK research, and in particular protecting the science budgdt of | :57:05. | :57:08. | |
?4.9 billion per annum. All of this will help our innovative colpanies | :57:09. | :57:14. | |
in this country, building stronger links with emerging markets, | :57:15. | :57:18. | |
especially China and India. I was delighted to see that both leaders | :57:19. | :57:23. | |
of those, the largest populous nations in the world, have been to | :57:24. | :57:27. | |
this country in the last ye`r, and what successful visits they have | :57:28. | :57:35. | |
had. So my right honourable friend, the member for Bromsgrove, hn | :57:36. | :57:40. | |
launching the government's productivity plan, said this: | :57:41. | :57:46. | |
Britain is home to the world's most innovative and dynamic businesses, | :57:47. | :57:49. | |
staffed by incredibly talented and hard-working individuals. Hd went on | :57:50. | :57:54. | |
to say higher productivity leans higher incomes. When productivity | :57:55. | :57:58. | |
rises, standards of living rise too. So today I am proud to practice | :57:59. | :58:04. | |
Dunne publish -- proud to ptblish this. Honourable members from all | :58:05. | :58:10. | |
sides of the sides have comlented on productivity this afternoon, and it | :58:11. | :58:15. | |
is true that we lag behind some of our major competitors in | :58:16. | :58:20. | |
productivity. And I think m`ny economists have puzzled over this, | :58:21. | :58:23. | |
but I think the reason is actually very simple. In that list of | :58:24. | :58:27. | |
achievements that I gave just now, I omitted the fact, and this lust be | :58:28. | :58:31. | |
hugely welcomed to all membdrs of the house, that we have a rdcord | :58:32. | :58:34. | |
number of people in work in this country, due to our flexibld labour | :58:35. | :58:39. | |
laws, we have 32 million people in work in this country, more than ever | :58:40. | :58:46. | |
before, and that number is rising. I believe because of that fact, | :58:47. | :58:49. | |
because we have more people employed, maybe some of our | :58:50. | :58:52. | |
companies have not invested quite as much as they might have dond in | :58:53. | :58:56. | |
capital equipment, which wotld be labour-saving, which has happened on | :58:57. | :58:59. | |
the continent, where their labour laws are much more to the board | :59:00. | :59:01. | |
There are higher unemployment resulting from that, Greece, 50 | :59:02. | :59:11. | |
youth unemployment. Here, I am grateful to say, that our youth and | :59:12. | :59:16. | |
implement is dropping. I thhnk this is a terrific achievement in this | :59:17. | :59:21. | |
country. Let's have a look `t where trade is going around the world In | :59:22. | :59:26. | |
2014, UK's export of goods `nd services totalled 513 billion, and | :59:27. | :59:34. | |
imports totalled 548 billion, of which the EU accounted 45% of | :59:35. | :59:39. | |
exports and 53% of imports. So the balance of trade with the ET is | :59:40. | :59:46. | |
against us. In other words, we are importing less from the EU than we | :59:47. | :59:49. | |
are exporting to them. So there is no reason why we should not look | :59:50. | :59:54. | |
round the rest of the world to see where we could export more. I | :59:55. | :59:57. | |
commend to the Minister this is exactly what we ought to be doing. | :59:58. | :00:01. | |
This is against the backgrotnd of the policy of wanting to increase | :00:02. | :00:14. | |
trade. I think there is no reason why we could not do much more in | :00:15. | :00:18. | |
tonnes of export. UK TIA in the last few years has been -- UK UKTI. | :00:19. | :00:34. | |
How we might encourage UKTI to do even more, this business in my | :00:35. | :00:44. | |
constituency exports to 40 countries around the world, it makes hts | :00:45. | :00:49. | |
products in China, exports them directly to Australia withott them | :00:50. | :00:54. | |
ever touching this country `nd yet it pays UK corporation tax. These | :00:55. | :00:58. | |
are precisely the sort of medium-sized companies we otght to | :00:59. | :01:07. | |
be in foraging to export more. One of things they said was there was | :01:08. | :01:12. | |
too much emphasis. If we cotld encourage people, it is an | :01:13. | :01:17. | |
inductively important part of the exporting programmed to go to these | :01:18. | :01:22. | |
trade shows. If we could encourage a little bit more incentive from UKTI, | :01:23. | :01:28. | |
these companies to go to thdse trade shows, particularly where they have | :01:29. | :01:31. | |
a record of success, and I have five or six points at the end of my | :01:32. | :01:35. | |
speech that I will suggest to the Minister to encourage exporting | :01:36. | :01:41. | |
This company made the point that it is only in about the second or third | :01:42. | :01:46. | |
year, the second is exploration , the third if you are lucky hs | :01:47. | :01:50. | |
beginning to make a profit. Therefore, they need a bit of | :01:51. | :01:53. | |
extension of that from the do for years. They are in their thhrd year, | :01:54. | :01:57. | |
they are about to be cut off as they are about to be profitable. I can | :01:58. | :02:03. | |
see my honourable friend wants to intervene. I am grateful, I am | :02:04. | :02:08. | |
delighted to see my predecessor Lord Maude recently. Would he agree with | :02:09. | :02:12. | |
me, a number of manufacturing firms in Horsham. What I would report the | :02:13. | :02:17. | |
better service they are getting from the Foreign Office and our | :02:18. | :02:20. | |
ambassadors abroad in helping British exports, that is solething | :02:21. | :02:23. | |
that should be welcomed and put on the record. I partially agrde with | :02:24. | :02:29. | |
my honourable friend, and I'm sorry to only partially agree. I `m not | :02:30. | :02:34. | |
going to name, but this particular company went to one of our nearer | :02:35. | :02:39. | |
embassies to this country and was distinctly unimpressed with the | :02:40. | :02:41. | |
trade representatives that were there. He described them as spotty | :02:42. | :02:47. | |
youths just out of university. Whereas he was saying that what we | :02:48. | :02:51. | |
need is people in our embassies and indeed in Tampa, who will h`ve a | :02:52. | :03:04. | |
record actually helping companies to export. There are approximately a | :03:05. | :03:16. | |
million small and medium-sized in this country. I would suggest to my | :03:17. | :03:19. | |
right honourable friend and minister there are still much to be done | :03:20. | :03:23. | |
still far too many companies that don't understand what it is to | :03:24. | :03:27. | |
export, and don't understand the advantages of exporting. Thdre are | :03:28. | :03:30. | |
some world known figures th`t, once you have exported for the fhrst | :03:31. | :03:34. | |
time, your productivity goes up by 7%. Not only does your profhts go up | :03:35. | :03:40. | |
because hopefully you are doing profitable business exporting, it | :03:41. | :03:43. | |
also means that your productivity will go up as well because ht | :03:44. | :03:46. | |
sharpens your whole operation because you are having to ddal with | :03:47. | :03:51. | |
that extra dimension. I think we could do much more, in coll`boration | :03:52. | :03:57. | |
with UKTI, export finance, laking them all come together much more | :03:58. | :04:00. | |
closely. I have another suggestion at the end of my speech, innovation | :04:01. | :04:07. | |
UK. And UKTI could get much closer together so that some of our best | :04:08. | :04:12. | |
seed generated companies should actually at the very beginnhng of | :04:13. | :04:19. | |
their existence, not when they are already established, right `t the | :04:20. | :04:23. | |
beginning of their existencd, but many high-tech companies should | :04:24. | :04:26. | |
think about exporting as ond of the first things they do after they | :04:27. | :04:33. | |
become established. I concur with the honourable member about the | :04:34. | :04:37. | |
importance of UKTI. Unfortunately, in the Autumn Statement, thd | :04:38. | :04:43. | |
Chancellor slashed the budgdt of UKTI, and so outraged is thd | :04:44. | :04:47. | |
organisation that its chief executive resigned, so clearly his | :04:48. | :04:57. | |
government is not helping UKTI. We all have to encourage them to | :04:58. | :05:01. | |
operate within the climate there is, although I have to say frankly if | :05:02. | :05:07. | |
you want to expand exports, UKTI is one of those areas where actor I | :05:08. | :05:10. | |
would put the money but I would make sure it is operating as well as it | :05:11. | :05:16. | |
possibly can. One of the suggestions I make to my honourable fridnd is | :05:17. | :05:22. | |
that it should be benchmarkdd against the best export agencies in | :05:23. | :05:24. | |
the world. One should never ever be complacent and I think by | :05:25. | :05:28. | |
benchmarking that is one of the things we can do. After all, as my | :05:29. | :05:34. | |
right honourable friend has just said in his intervention to me, on | :05:35. | :05:37. | |
the whole, despite what my company said when they went to see the local | :05:38. | :05:44. | |
Lord Maude. Our ambassadors are some of the best in the world, and we | :05:45. | :05:47. | |
have one of the best network ambassadors of the world, | :05:48. | :06:00. | |
one of the most compared to have embassies around the world. It was | :06:01. | :06:04. | |
this government after all that started opening embassies, where the | :06:05. | :06:06. | |
previous government had closed it. So we have the network, we need in | :06:07. | :06:09. | |
some places to sharpen up some of the expertise, but I think that | :06:10. | :06:11. | |
gives us a very good financd -- foundation on which to build. | :06:12. | :06:15. | |
Through our soft power, through the BBC World Service, the Brithsh | :06:16. | :06:21. | |
Council, we are very well established in one of those -- many | :06:22. | :06:24. | |
of those major bricks markets and other smaller markets where we need | :06:25. | :06:26. | |
to concentrate our efforts. I think it is in those markets, the | :06:27. | :06:29. | |
high-growth markets, as opposed to Europe, which is lower growth, is | :06:30. | :06:38. | |
perhaps where we need to be concentrating some of our efforts. I | :06:39. | :06:40. | |
am delighted therefore that are exports to China are growing in such | :06:41. | :06:43. | |
quantities, albeit from a low base, but actually we are putting | :06:44. | :06:49. | |
significant resources of UKTI into China and it is paying dividends. | :06:50. | :06:53. | |
The visit from the Chinese premier this year will only help to cement | :06:54. | :06:58. | |
that effort. So, Madam Deputy Speaker, I don't want to make too | :06:59. | :07:01. | |
long a speech but I do think there are some things that we could do to | :07:02. | :07:07. | |
help companies export. I have some specific ideas for fiscal incentives | :07:08. | :07:14. | |
to give to medium and small size businesses, that you could give them | :07:15. | :07:18. | |
some specific fiscal help whth export related activity. And I think | :07:19. | :07:26. | |
that maybe a better way in lany companies, and alerting manx | :07:27. | :07:28. | |
companies, because companies are very cute as to how they can save | :07:29. | :07:33. | |
tax. Maybe one of the best ways we could do of encouraging all medium | :07:34. | :07:36. | |
and small sized businesses to think about exporting, and to say to them | :07:37. | :07:41. | |
that actually this isn't necessarily going to be a huge cost in xour | :07:42. | :07:51. | |
possible export markets. Thd second suggestion I have already mdntioned, | :07:52. | :07:54. | |
to extend the tap programme from three to four years, where success | :07:55. | :07:57. | |
has already been demonstratdd. If you can't make success withhn the | :07:58. | :08:01. | |
three-year period, you are tnlikely to make it, that if you alrdady | :08:02. | :08:05. | |
demonstrating success, such as this company I have already menthoned, I | :08:06. | :08:08. | |
wish my honourable friend would listen from the front bench, please. | :08:09. | :08:13. | |
If you extended the tap programme from three to four years whdn | :08:14. | :08:16. | |
success can be demonstrated, I think that would be helpful. The third | :08:17. | :08:24. | |
suggestion I have is that wd should buddy a successful exporting SME | :08:25. | :08:29. | |
with one that exports for the first time. I think that would be really | :08:30. | :08:33. | |
helpful. It is the fear the unknown when you are a company only in the | :08:34. | :08:43. | |
-- only implying a fewer employees, having to deal with the VAT, | :08:44. | :08:49. | |
national insurance, and the Manufacturing, that is actu`lly | :08:50. | :08:51. | |
quite frightening for a small company, and I think that is what is | :08:52. | :08:54. | |
so off-putting. But actuallx bloodying with one in the s`me | :08:55. | :08:56. | |
market but hopefully not colpeting, would be one of the ways. | :08:57. | :09:06. | |
If you tell us if you could not get his own minister to listen to him, | :09:07. | :09:13. | |
what hope have we? I think H will ignore that intervention. | :09:14. | :09:17. | |
LAUGHTER I think I could have come up with | :09:18. | :09:22. | |
something better myself. So the fourth suggestion I have is to give | :09:23. | :09:30. | |
blacks a stronger exporting role. -- to live LETs a stronger exporting | :09:31. | :09:41. | |
role. Every single one of those nine divisions they have should be | :09:42. | :09:44. | |
utterly focused on exporting. I would give a much greater | :09:45. | :09:50. | |
combination between UKTI and Innovate UK. Innovate UK is already | :09:51. | :09:56. | |
developing the technology board strategy and giving help to | :09:57. | :10:01. | |
companies to expand their ideas often in debating ideas frol the | :10:02. | :10:03. | |
best universities and this hs an area from which the UK would | :10:04. | :10:11. | |
ultimately, from little acorns often the greatest companies grow. That is | :10:12. | :10:16. | |
where we might look at encotraging them to export. I would reinvest -- | :10:17. | :10:28. | |
reinvigorate... And incentivise them properly. Pay them properly, because | :10:29. | :10:33. | |
otherwise the private sector will always continue to employ the very | :10:34. | :10:37. | |
best people. I think we havd made very good progress in the l`st | :10:38. | :10:41. | |
Parliament and this Parliamdnt. I think there is much more to do. Our | :10:42. | :10:46. | |
all-party trade and investmdnt group will help the Government whdrever it | :10:47. | :10:49. | |
possibly can die cutting people in touch with the UKTI, in touch with | :10:50. | :10:56. | |
their LEPs and as we go arotnd the world, every one of us, every member | :10:57. | :11:03. | |
of Parliament, should be aldrt as to which companies in their | :11:04. | :11:06. | |
constituency are able to export to those markets, and put thosd | :11:07. | :11:09. | |
companies in touch with that possibility, and in that wax I think | :11:10. | :11:13. | |
we can all become trade export ambassadors, and I think it would | :11:14. | :11:19. | |
help exporting in this country considerably. Thank you. It is a | :11:20. | :11:26. | |
pleasure to take part in thhs debate and to follow the honourabld member. | :11:27. | :11:32. | |
He has made a contribution with some sensible suggestions, particularly | :11:33. | :11:35. | |
about the buddy system with businesses. It is a sensibld one | :11:36. | :11:38. | |
that all the agencies involved should take onboard. I was not | :11:39. | :11:43. | |
expecting to speak quite so early in this debate. It is clearly ` matter | :11:44. | :11:49. | |
of great interest to some. Unfortunately, this opposithon | :11:50. | :11:53. | |
debate memo does not seem to be passed to the official opposition. | :11:54. | :11:57. | |
There are some honourable mdmbers providing an honourable excdption | :11:58. | :12:01. | |
but it is a little bit surprising given how important these | :12:02. | :12:07. | |
fundamental tenets of our economy are, not just to the economx but to | :12:08. | :12:13. | |
the services that they provhde, -- provide the money to pay for. You | :12:14. | :12:16. | |
don't get the economy right, you do not have the services. I am really | :12:17. | :12:22. | |
pleased to take part in this and I'm going to focus on one of thd areas | :12:23. | :12:26. | |
where I think the UK but in particular Scotland has verx strong | :12:27. | :12:30. | |
both natural and competitivd advantages, and that is in dnergy. | :12:31. | :12:33. | |
Oil and gas, as I have touched upon, Oil and gas, as I have touched upon, | :12:34. | :12:36. | |
and double would buy to thank the minister for what was a poshtive | :12:37. | :12:42. | |
response to my question abott oil and gas. I think it would bd more | :12:43. | :12:45. | |
helpful if we focused around what could be done to help the shtuation | :12:46. | :12:49. | |
rather than the sum of the politics of round it. I except wholeheartedly | :12:50. | :12:56. | |
that this... We need to reflect on what message this place sends to the | :12:57. | :12:59. | |
folk in Aberdeen being laid off when we are having knock-about round | :13:00. | :13:03. | |
about the oil price. It is not helpful, but I do respect, `ccept | :13:04. | :13:09. | |
and fat full for the positive comments. It would seem to le that | :13:10. | :13:13. | |
this Government has turned over a new leaf this year in his approach | :13:14. | :13:18. | |
to oil and gas. I've had positive conversations with the Energy | :13:19. | :13:21. | |
Minister today and there is also a positive response to the qudstions | :13:22. | :13:27. | |
by Matt Angle friend the melber for Livingston. -- my honourabld friend. | :13:28. | :13:32. | |
We are in an incredibly difficult position in terms of the oil price. | :13:33. | :13:37. | |
Jobs are being lost. But thdre is still a bright future. The dnergy | :13:38. | :13:43. | |
industry is doing what it c`n to produce -- reduce costs. | :13:44. | :13:46. | |
Unfortunately in a large of cases that will require job losses. But it | :13:47. | :13:51. | |
also requires innovating. It does require help from Government to | :13:52. | :13:56. | |
bridge over what we hope will be a temporary downturn. Most people are | :13:57. | :14:01. | |
expecting the oil price to rise at some stage, it is just not nearby | :14:02. | :14:06. | |
when and how much. The constituency I represent in Aberdeen South, | :14:07. | :14:10. | |
Aberdeen is a city of innov`tors, no doubt about that. It will pdrhaps | :14:11. | :14:15. | |
come as no surprise to some of my colleagues on these benches that it | :14:16. | :14:19. | |
is the city in Scotland that filed the most patents in 2014. More so | :14:20. | :14:25. | |
than Edinburgh, with a population twice the size of Aberdeen, and more | :14:26. | :14:29. | |
so than Glasgow, with a poptlation almost three times the size of | :14:30. | :14:34. | |
Aberdeen. Primarily, in the oil and gas but also in terms of life | :14:35. | :14:37. | |
sciences, biosciences and food and drink. This is a city in whhch it is | :14:38. | :14:43. | |
driving but it is unquestionably an oil and gas and indeed an energy | :14:44. | :14:48. | |
hub. The job losses announcdd by BP yesterday, coming on the back of 115 | :14:49. | :14:53. | |
announced before are genuindly heartbreaking for those involved. As | :14:54. | :14:59. | |
I have said though, the indtstry is taking steps it can to innovate An | :15:00. | :15:05. | |
innovation is one of the hallmarks of the oil and gas industry. It is | :15:06. | :15:09. | |
heartening to see the level of innovation and the level of renewed | :15:10. | :15:13. | |
collaboration that is taking place in the industry as they work to deal | :15:14. | :15:21. | |
with the low oil price. Somd of the issues that the industry had were | :15:22. | :15:25. | |
pre-existing that they have been exacerbated. There are thred sides | :15:26. | :15:32. | |
of the coin in terms of the cost and income, oil and gas companids facing | :15:33. | :15:35. | |
these. One is the oil price. None of us can do anything about th`t. Two | :15:36. | :15:40. | |
is the costs that the industry is exposed to. They are doing what they | :15:41. | :15:48. | |
can. Third is taxation. I al pleased to see that there is an open mind on | :15:49. | :15:53. | |
the Treasury benches around about this and I plead with them to look | :15:54. | :15:57. | |
at the oil and gas taxation in the round to see what can be done. There | :15:58. | :16:04. | |
is also an important point. There is -- the apprenticeship levy has been | :16:05. | :16:09. | |
raised and we wholeheartedlx support this provided it has the investment | :16:10. | :16:13. | |
coming to Scotland, that thdre have been questions asked, again by my | :16:14. | :16:16. | |
right honourable friend the member for Livingston, about the double | :16:17. | :16:24. | |
imposition of an apprenticeship scheme on our oil and gas companies | :16:25. | :16:28. | |
who already pay into apprenticeship schemes. As part of progressing and | :16:29. | :16:34. | |
maintaining Aberdeen's position as an innovative hub, local | :16:35. | :16:39. | |
authorities, Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire councils `re | :16:40. | :16:45. | |
exploring a city deal and as well as investment in infrastructurd, which | :16:46. | :16:48. | |
is obviously an important p`rt of our debate and a key way of Security | :16:49. | :16:55. | |
economic growth, they are also looking at how they can continue to | :16:56. | :16:59. | |
make the best of the experthse and innovation that the city of Aberdeen | :17:00. | :17:06. | |
is proud to host. There are proposals within the city ddal to | :17:07. | :17:08. | |
create an innovation Hub around about the two universities, bringing | :17:09. | :17:14. | |
together the city and universities in a way that has been disctssed | :17:15. | :17:18. | |
here already. I hope, and it is part of the measures required to protect | :17:19. | :17:22. | |
the north-east of Scotland, and provide that bridging that H | :17:23. | :17:25. | |
mentioned for the oil industry, I think the Aberdeen city reghon deal | :17:26. | :17:31. | |
is an important part of that toolkit and one I would commend agahn to the | :17:32. | :17:40. | |
Government. There are many ways even in these times of diffhculty, | :17:41. | :17:49. | |
where innovation in the oil industry can provide a massive support to the | :17:50. | :17:54. | |
UK economy. Enhanced oil recovery is one of them. Looking at being one of | :17:55. | :18:01. | |
the first movers in terms of decommissioning, not somethhng we | :18:02. | :18:04. | |
want to see happening prematurely but something that was inevhtably | :18:05. | :18:08. | |
going to happen. We have thd ability as one of the more mature ohl and | :18:09. | :18:13. | |
gas basins in the world to take the expertise that we have and dxport it | :18:14. | :18:18. | |
globally. That is an opporttnity that we cannot afford to miss. In | :18:19. | :18:26. | |
terms of exports, the north,east and the oil and gas supply chain which | :18:27. | :18:29. | |
in fairness is much more th`n Aberdeen, is the length and breadth | :18:30. | :18:35. | |
of the UK, is good. It is gdtting better. Aberdeen relies much less | :18:36. | :18:40. | |
upon the North Sea in terms of supply companies based therd for | :18:41. | :18:46. | |
their income. I would like to draw the House' attention, though, to | :18:47. | :18:49. | |
something announced at the tail end of last year, and it was solething | :18:50. | :18:54. | |
that in principle I support and I'm not criticising, but I do think it | :18:55. | :19:00. | |
would need to be taken in the right way, with a more supportive approach | :19:01. | :19:03. | |
to oil and gas, and that is the announcement that they will be an | :19:04. | :19:08. | |
export credit agreement of $500 million for a couple of companies | :19:09. | :19:14. | |
based in the UK for exports to Petrobras, the Brazilian st`te-owned | :19:15. | :19:20. | |
oil major. That is good in htself, in the fact that it helps stpport | :19:21. | :19:26. | |
exports from the UK, from Aberdeen, but I do think we need to bd careful | :19:27. | :19:32. | |
when we are looking at thesd things. If we are providing exports to | :19:33. | :19:34. | |
something like the oil and gas industry elsewhere, we may | :19:35. | :19:41. | |
inadvertently mean that we require greater imports of oil and gas in | :19:42. | :19:45. | |
the future. So we do need to get it right in terms of... I do not mean | :19:46. | :19:51. | |
to criticise that but you h`ve to have both sides there. You have to | :19:52. | :19:55. | |
have support for exports but you also have to have the support for | :19:56. | :20:04. | |
the domestic industry. Aberdeen and Scotland more widely have htge | :20:05. | :20:07. | |
natural advantages when it comes to green energy. The Paris deal, I | :20:08. | :20:15. | |
think, cements the opportunhty we have in this regard. There hs a sad | :20:16. | :20:21. | |
irony in that the deal comes at the same time as the UK Governmdnt has | :20:22. | :20:27. | |
taken the hatchet to a numbdr of green energy policies. One which | :20:28. | :20:31. | |
undermines that opportunity to truly embrace what will be one of the | :20:32. | :20:37. | |
biggest global growing markdts of this century. In the Secret`ry of | :20:38. | :20:46. | |
State for Energy and Climatd Change's much heralded recess | :20:47. | :20:50. | |
speech, she said, and I quote, at the same time we are building new | :20:51. | :20:55. | |
interconnect is to make it dasier to import cheaper electricity from | :20:56. | :21:01. | |
Europe. I and the SNP support the building of interconnect is. I think | :21:02. | :21:06. | |
an integrated European markdt for electricity is something whhch will | :21:07. | :21:10. | |
be a good thing, but I think the ambition there and the logic for | :21:11. | :21:16. | |
doing it is the wrong way round We should not be doing this to import | :21:17. | :21:20. | |
electricity. We should be ghving it to export the green electricity | :21:21. | :21:24. | |
which can be produced from the wind, waves, C and tides in Scotl`nd. That | :21:25. | :21:32. | |
is what we should be giving, that is the opportunity of interconnectors, | :21:33. | :21:35. | |
not to import cheap electricity but to build it industry we can be proud | :21:36. | :21:40. | |
of, to develop the skills wd need. And the renewables sector is an | :21:41. | :21:43. | |
important part of rebalancing the economy. Rebalancing it in | :21:44. | :21:48. | |
geographic terms as much as anything else. There is often a crithcism, | :21:49. | :21:54. | |
particularly of onshore wind, that it does not provide that many jobs. | :21:55. | :21:58. | |
The reality is it does provhde a lot of jobs, and it provides jobs in | :21:59. | :22:02. | |
places where without the wind industry there would likely be no | :22:03. | :22:06. | |
jobs at all. You cannot overstate the importance of a small ntmber, | :22:07. | :22:12. | |
perhaps, of highly paid jobs in an area where they do not exist. Will | :22:13. | :22:21. | |
he also accept that many of the studies in Scotland have shown that | :22:22. | :22:26. | |
the onshore wind industry and the way it spoils the landscape has | :22:27. | :22:29. | |
displaced and taken away a lot of to risk jobs? I have heard a sdssion is | :22:30. | :22:33. | |
around about this year in, xear out, around about this year in, xear out, | :22:34. | :22:38. | |
but a spot as I understand ht, the tourist sector in Scotland hs doing | :22:39. | :22:41. | |
very well. It continues to do well and it is a major sector of growth | :22:42. | :22:46. | |
in the Scottish economy so H do not quite understand the asserthons | :22:47. | :22:50. | |
There is anecdotal evidence but it is no more than that. Someone who | :22:51. | :22:56. | |
says, I came to Scotland, I didn't like the wind turbines. Somdbody | :22:57. | :23:00. | |
else is there to take their place and will be because Scotland offers | :23:01. | :23:02. | |
a world-class tourism that H do not a world-class tourism that H do not | :23:03. | :23:07. | |
believe is in anyway to spohl, in the honourable gentleman's words, | :23:08. | :23:13. | |
why the wind industry. We h`ve also mentioned, and perhaps this is being | :23:14. | :23:17. | |
overly negative as has been suggested previously, but there are | :23:18. | :23:23. | |
genuine critiques here. In terms of green energy policy, that is. There | :23:24. | :23:27. | |
have been various things done but the most damaging, I think, to the | :23:28. | :23:31. | |
United Kingdom's reputation and in terms of the financial and | :23:32. | :23:37. | |
investment in confidence th`t is required to secure investment in the | :23:38. | :23:49. | |
UK, is pulling the plug on carbon storage. Where companies, and they | :23:50. | :23:56. | |
were big companies, were investing significant time and resources on | :23:57. | :24:04. | |
the bases of this visit good word of this United Kingdom Governmdnt. | :24:05. | :24:08. | |
Before they even had the opportunity to submit their bids, that plug was | :24:09. | :24:15. | |
pulled and the damage was done. You cannot underestimate the impact that | :24:16. | :24:20. | |
that and all of the incremental tax on green energy policy have. We are | :24:21. | :24:26. | |
missing a major trickier. This is a huge opportunity to grow our skill | :24:27. | :24:35. | |
base and do it in differing parts of the United Kingdom, and to send out | :24:36. | :24:39. | |
damaging messages really dods question commitment not just of the | :24:40. | :24:47. | |
UK of the Government to cle`n energy and the talk about Paris and the | :24:48. | :24:50. | |
global climate change deal but actually to the economy and | :24:51. | :24:55. | |
investment more widely. The last bit I would like to touch on, and it was | :24:56. | :25:00. | |
mentioned by the honourable member for Dundee East, the green | :25:01. | :25:03. | |
investment bank, something supported by this Government, I think by the | :25:04. | :25:08. | |
entire chamber when it was debated before I was here, that is ` shining | :25:09. | :25:12. | |
example of how you would address market failure. How you can ensure | :25:13. | :25:18. | |
that the investment was dirdcted to areas where you think they `re right | :25:19. | :25:23. | |
and given the support that the nascent industries need to get off | :25:24. | :25:27. | |
the ground. We have repeatedly criticised what is proposed and | :25:28. | :25:33. | |
again we will oppose the privatisation of the green | :25:34. | :25:36. | |
investment bank if there ard not cast iron assurances that the remit | :25:37. | :25:45. | |
will be protected. Post Parhs, the rules of the game have changed. I | :25:46. | :25:51. | |
think the UK, Scotland, havd a chance to seize the benefit of that. | :25:52. | :25:56. | |
Scotland is ready but I fear that as part of Tory Britain we are being | :25:57. | :26:07. | |
left behind. Thank you. I al very grateful to have the opporttnity to | :26:08. | :26:11. | |
speak. I have to say, I agrde with my right honourable friend the | :26:12. | :26:15. | |
member for Brock Stowe and `lso the honourable friend, the membdr for | :26:16. | :26:20. | |
The Cotswolds. The opposition benches have pasted eight -, painted | :26:21. | :26:25. | |
a pretty gloomy picture this afternoon. The state of the UK's | :26:26. | :26:30. | |
economy has improved signifhcantly since Labour's great recesshon, and | :26:31. | :26:37. | |
now our members have mentioned - as members have mentioned, it hs | :26:38. | :26:40. | |
growing faster than any othdr G nation. This has largely bedn a | :26:41. | :26:44. | |
function of rising employment and I would hope that all members of the | :26:45. | :26:47. | |
House would welcome this rise in employment. However, the economic | :26:48. | :26:53. | |
growth has not been because of productivity and improvement in | :26:54. | :26:56. | |
productivity, and as my right honourable friend has mentioned we | :26:57. | :27:02. | |
are not looking at addressing the productivity issue, because it is | :27:03. | :27:05. | |
one that has been a long-term problem affecting our econoly, and | :27:06. | :27:09. | |
one which successive governlents have failed to tackle. With our | :27:10. | :27:14. | |
productivity consistently l`gging behind that of other major | :27:15. | :27:25. | |
economies. So I would challdnge the notion... Publishing the | :27:26. | :27:31. | |
productivity plan last summdr. This recognition that addressing this gap | :27:32. | :27:34. | |
will be key to ensuring that sustainable recovery, a long-term | :27:35. | :27:39. | |
successful economy, and to live in the end our long-term econolic plan. | :27:40. | :27:45. | |
Although we have to be clear to recognise that this is not simply | :27:46. | :27:50. | |
going to happen overnight. The productivity plan outlines 05 key | :27:51. | :27:53. | |
areas which need to be addrdssed. They are built upon two pillars | :27:54. | :28:00. | |
including long-term investmdnt and promoting a dynamic economy. This | :28:01. | :28:07. | |
includes measures to promotd and encourage trade and export, and it | :28:08. | :28:10. | |
is this I would like to focts on this afternoon, like many mdmbers. | :28:11. | :28:17. | |
The exporting is great camp`ign I hope, will inspire and promote | :28:18. | :28:21. | |
thousands of new businesses to export. Firms that do export are | :28:22. | :28:26. | |
more productive, more innov`tive, and less likely to go out of | :28:27. | :28:30. | |
business, and it is for this reason that I'm jointly hosting and exports | :28:31. | :28:35. | |
of event in Canada next week, with UKTI and the chamber of Comlerce. | :28:36. | :28:43. | |
This will be an opportunity for small, local small and meditm-sized | :28:44. | :28:48. | |
businesses to understand wh`t global opportunities exist, the benefits of | :28:49. | :28:51. | |
exporting and also finding out what practical help is available. The | :28:52. | :28:59. | |
export experiences ATP group are an excellent example of the power and | :29:00. | :29:03. | |
opportunities that are available in the export market. I would like to | :29:04. | :29:07. | |
invite my right honourable friend the member for Brock Stowe to come | :29:08. | :29:16. | |
and visit ATP with me. They are based in Cannock Would, and ATP is | :29:17. | :29:22. | |
your's largest independent manufacturer of automated | :29:23. | :29:29. | |
electronics. Essentially, rdbuilding car parks, for example gearboxes, to | :29:30. | :29:35. | |
the specifications of the original product, using reclaimed, | :29:36. | :29:40. | |
re-engineered and new parts. Their clients include Ford, Land Rover and | :29:41. | :29:46. | |
Volvo to name a few. Exports make up two thirds of their business and | :29:47. | :29:49. | |
they are exporting to around 35 countries. During the last xear | :29:50. | :29:56. | |
alone, their international trade has increased by over 57%. ATP have | :29:57. | :30:03. | |
shown that the best ways to address productivity and increase exports is | :30:04. | :30:09. | |
by investing in skills, devdlopment, new technology and R and D two | :30:10. | :30:19. | |
client requirements. I would be delighted to come and visit ATB | :30:20. | :30:23. | |
They sound like an excellent success story with many lessons to be | :30:24. | :30:27. | |
learned from other companies, so I accept the invitation gladlx. I am | :30:28. | :30:34. | |
thrilled that she will join me to visit ATP. I know they will be | :30:35. | :30:36. | |
incredibly pleased, too. This 1 trillion export targdt to be | :30:37. | :30:57. | |
met by 2020 and end up seeing 1 0 thousand more companies exporting by | :30:58. | :31:04. | |
this point. I will happily give way. I take what she says about @TP and | :31:05. | :31:11. | |
her constituency, but it is clearly the case that the UK is a ndt | :31:12. | :31:19. | |
importer of automotive prodtcts Our largest engineering industrx is a | :31:20. | :31:23. | |
net importer basically from Europe. The plan has not worked. Thd oink | :31:24. | :31:32. | |
eyeing going to make is that we are trying to increase exports, and I | :31:33. | :31:36. | |
will come onto a few points relating to that. The productivity plans | :31:37. | :31:41. | |
outlined several measures to help meet this target, including building | :31:42. | :31:47. | |
stronger links with emerging markets, China, India Brazil. | :31:48. | :31:59. | |
My honourable friend the melbers of The Cotswolds made a point hn terms | :32:00. | :32:05. | |
of extending the trade access programme. Based upon ATP's | :32:06. | :32:11. | |
experience of exporting, and I would like to raise a number of other | :32:12. | :32:15. | |
issues and challenges faced by exporters, which I would like the | :32:16. | :32:19. | |
minister to consider. They fall into three categories, including red tape | :32:20. | :32:28. | |
and competitiveness, which represent barriers to exporting. Taking the | :32:29. | :32:33. | |
uncertainty first, that partly comes out because of the market btt the | :32:34. | :32:37. | |
issue I would like to particularly focus on is that of HM Customs | :32:38. | :32:42. | |
impounding shipments for random checks. That can be really difficult | :32:43. | :32:52. | |
when importing and exporting, when a just-in-time ordering mentality is | :32:53. | :32:55. | |
commonplace. The UK is not `lone in this issue. The question to the | :32:56. | :33:01. | |
minister is whether we can balance the understandable need to lonitor | :33:02. | :33:06. | |
shipments whilst at the samd time providing more certainty to those | :33:07. | :33:09. | |
firms that are importing and exporting. In terms of red tape | :33:10. | :33:17. | |
this is an issue that busindsses regularly reference and it hs true | :33:18. | :33:18. | |
here and abroad. Customs warehousing is a facility | :33:19. | :33:39. | |
for importers so that they can delay VAT pavements until the point when | :33:40. | :33:44. | |
the goods leave the customer's warehousing facility or entdr | :33:45. | :33:48. | |
another customs procedure. @ccording to ATP this is an excellent service | :33:49. | :33:54. | |
for importing parts. However the red tape associated with it is | :33:55. | :34:00. | |
cumbersome. As such ATP no longer uses the facility as the levels of | :34:01. | :34:05. | |
paperwork outweigh the benefits This means that an excellent | :34:06. | :34:08. | |
facility has been and are utilised. I would like to ask the Minhster to | :34:09. | :34:12. | |
review this facility and look at ways in which the paperwork can be | :34:13. | :34:16. | |
reduced and simplified so that it can be used by those who have less | :34:17. | :34:21. | |
capacity to deal with red t`pe and larger organisations. The honourable | :34:22. | :34:29. | |
lady makes an important point about bureaucracy and the role of border | :34:30. | :34:33. | |
control. The government is reviewing this at the moment with its border | :34:34. | :34:40. | |
programme. At the moment 92$ of consignments are customs cldared in | :34:41. | :34:44. | |
five seconds but her constituents are clearly having difficulties I | :34:45. | :34:48. | |
will talk to the Trade Minister on her behalf and look to thesd | :34:49. | :34:55. | |
problems. I am grateful for the update in terms of the revidws and I | :34:56. | :34:59. | |
look forward to more inform`tion. I will also feed that back to ATP who | :35:00. | :35:03. | |
are not using the facility `t the moment and maybe they would like to | :35:04. | :35:09. | |
use it again. Turning to competitiveness, the costs `nd risks | :35:10. | :35:13. | |
of a sporting can be off-putting. If we are really serious about | :35:14. | :35:18. | |
encouraging exports surely we should look at ways to incentivise | :35:19. | :35:22. | |
businesses to do so, potenthally through tax breaks. One tax which | :35:23. | :35:27. | |
can be a burden to exporters is Air Passenger Duty. It is in re`lity | :35:28. | :35:33. | |
attacks on exports. ATP spends thousands of pounds a year hn taxes | :35:34. | :35:38. | |
alone. Every time they signdd deals they must travel abroad and the | :35:39. | :35:43. | |
costs over when you are significant. We must realise that ADP like many | :35:44. | :35:49. | |
businesses are competing in a global market. Therefore an is Air | :35:50. | :35:52. | |
Passenger Duty makes them ldss competitive interims of contract and | :35:53. | :35:57. | |
every -- owner is duties make them less competitive in terms than other | :35:58. | :36:05. | |
companies. While some tried to avoid this tax by booking tickets abroad | :36:06. | :36:09. | |
the Treasury is missing out. If that Air Passenger Duty is a devolved | :36:10. | :36:13. | |
matter and the Scottish Govdrnment has announced that it will be cut by | :36:14. | :36:19. | |
50% with a view to abolishing Ed, there is a need to consider the | :36:20. | :36:23. | |
position, and it is probablx more urgent than ever. I want to ask the | :36:24. | :36:27. | |
Minister to consider ways in which we could provide tax breaks on Air | :36:28. | :36:31. | |
Passenger Duty for those who are exporting. I appreciate that at face | :36:32. | :36:40. | |
value this is a kind of cut in tax revenues but I believe thesd will be | :36:41. | :36:45. | |
overcome by the economic gahns from more businesses exporting and also | :36:46. | :36:48. | |
exporting more of their goods and services. To conclude, Madal Deputy | :36:49. | :36:55. | |
Speaker, with a need to address the productivity gap and the role that | :36:56. | :36:58. | |
exporters complain closing ht, I believe it is important that we do | :36:59. | :37:04. | |
all they can to encourage btsinesses to consider exporting. That is why I | :37:05. | :37:08. | |
want the government to conshder ways in which we can address these three | :37:09. | :37:15. | |
overriding issues that I've outlined today, uncertainty, red tapd, | :37:16. | :37:18. | |
competitiveness. I will not support the motion as I do not belidve it | :37:19. | :37:23. | |
reflects the current picturd and the government commitment to | :37:24. | :37:26. | |
productivity and exporting. Ian Wright. Madame Jeopardy Spe`ker it | :37:27. | :37:35. | |
is an honour and a privilegd to follow my fellow member of the | :37:36. | :37:40. | |
business and innovations skhlls committee, a valid committed member | :37:41. | :37:45. | |
providing insight and personal wisdom in some of the inquiries It | :37:46. | :37:49. | |
is an honour to follow go. However I will support the motion tonhght | :37:50. | :37:53. | |
because I agree with every word of it, to be frank. I believe ht gets | :37:54. | :38:00. | |
to the heart of worrying structural imbalances in this economy. A | :38:01. | :38:03. | |
reliance on consumer spending based on debt at the expense of | :38:04. | :38:09. | |
investment, a reliance on domestic consumption at the expense of | :38:10. | :38:12. | |
growing international markets, priority given to short-terl value | :38:13. | :38:16. | |
extraction at the expense of long-term value creation and a | :38:17. | :38:21. | |
reliance on Serbia's economx at the expense of manufacturing whhch can | :38:22. | :38:25. | |
inject real productivity gahns across the country. Which r`ises | :38:26. | :38:30. | |
living standards for all of us and for all of our constituents. As well | :38:31. | :38:34. | |
as the points raised by the motion and would like to add the | :38:35. | :38:38. | |
geographical imbalance in otr economy. As a north-eastern MP, I'm | :38:39. | :38:44. | |
in London for half the week and I am back in God's own country for the | :38:45. | :38:49. | |
remainder of the week! In tdrms of the London and the south-east | :38:50. | :38:54. | |
economies, overheating, putting in turn pressure on infrastructure and | :38:55. | :38:57. | |
housing supply in London, at the expense of sustainable economic | :38:58. | :39:03. | |
growth elsewhere in the UK. Madame Debord is Speaker I welcome the | :39:04. | :39:07. | |
focus on the motion of prodtctivity. We at the business select committee | :39:08. | :39:11. | |
undertook our first inquiry of this Parliament and the government's | :39:12. | :39:16. | |
productivity plan and we hope to produce our report shortly. | :39:17. | :39:21. | |
Similarly the motion's reference in changing from grants to loans is | :39:22. | :39:25. | |
welcome, as has already been said in the debate today, it is deeply | :39:26. | :39:29. | |
concerning because it could undermine the competitiveness of | :39:30. | :39:33. | |
this country. Capital is global and terms will see what they will get | :39:34. | :39:37. | |
the best return and they cotld have leverage in in public sector | :39:38. | :39:41. | |
investment as a result of their own private sector investment. We could | :39:42. | :39:46. | |
be losing out, in this country, to seeing foreign direct investment. | :39:47. | :39:49. | |
Let me finish the point. It's important that when we are | :39:50. | :39:54. | |
attracting direct foreign investment into this country and this | :39:55. | :39:57. | |
government and previous govdrnments have been very successful in this, | :39:58. | :40:01. | |
we must make sure we are at the cutting edge of attracting foreign | :40:02. | :40:04. | |
direct investment. And this puts out at considerable risk. The point of | :40:05. | :41:20. | |
my question is about FDI. Does he agree with me that the fact that | :41:21. | :41:26. | |
over 50% of FDI comes from the European union it has a strong case | :41:27. | :41:30. | |
to remain in the European Union to encourage more in the futurd? | :41:31. | :41:34. | |
That is important and to follow on from what the honourable gentleman | :41:35. | :41:41. | |
was saying, I think that firms are making investment decisions but it | :41:42. | :41:46. | |
is not just bad market but because they can see the UK as a springboard | :41:47. | :41:58. | |
into the largest consumer on Earth. Japanese firms not just herd for the | :41:59. | :42:05. | |
domestic market, but for a springboard into the whole Duropean | :42:06. | :42:11. | |
market, and we risk that at real peril. I want to talk about trade. | :42:12. | :42:13. | |
Trade performance is a good barometer of economic health but | :42:14. | :42:16. | |
both at a micro and macro ldvel At a macro level, a billion to trade | :42:17. | :42:19. | |
performance contributes to dconomic growth and helps to provide a | :42:20. | :42:25. | |
surplus. The motion mentions trade deficit and goods of ?123 bhllion in | :42:26. | :42:35. | |
2014. In that year, the current front, the biggest we have seen in | :42:36. | :42:40. | |
post war history. For much of the past 30 or 40 years or so the trade | :42:41. | :42:44. | |
deficit has been offset by investment from overseas. However, | :42:45. | :42:50. | |
and most ominously, net prilary income derived from assets `broad | :42:51. | :42:55. | |
has fallen from 3.3% of GDP to .1% in 2014. I think the ministdr should | :42:56. | :42:59. | |
outline in her response what the government's view is on this matter | :43:00. | :43:04. | |
because it has been very quhet on what is an incredibly cruci`l | :43:05. | :43:08. | |
economic issue. I have menthoned macro, but in micro level, dxporting | :43:09. | :43:12. | |
is very positive, especiallx for firms. It is good for the whder | :43:13. | :43:16. | |
economy too. The evidence stggests an exporting business tends to be | :43:17. | :43:21. | |
successful, and socially aw`re. And exporting Company tends to dmploy | :43:22. | :43:24. | |
more workers and offer bettdr wages than an equivalent non-exporting | :43:25. | :43:28. | |
company. Companies that exports have been shown to be more productive and | :43:29. | :43:32. | |
invest more in research and develop them. There is a strong link between | :43:33. | :43:37. | |
exporting and innovation. A business with a desire to export overseas | :43:38. | :43:40. | |
more often than not has the discipline, the ambition, and that | :43:41. | :43:45. | |
entrepreneurial flourish to develop new products and services that will | :43:46. | :43:50. | |
better serve the new export markets, there will be sensitive and | :43:51. | :43:53. | |
responsive to customer wishds, always the hallmark of a successful | :43:54. | :43:57. | |
business. It is that the possibility of a virtuous circle for exporting | :43:58. | :44:01. | |
businesses where they becomd more exposed to new demands, and | :44:02. | :44:05. | |
increased, vision, which makes them more productive, Howard looking and | :44:06. | :44:10. | |
better disposed to thinking of looking towards new protector | :44:11. | :44:13. | |
improved profitability. On `verage, according to the British gels of | :44:14. | :44:17. | |
commerce, businesses that export growth 20% more than businesses that | :44:18. | :44:22. | |
don't. We need to encourage that much, much, more, because f`r too | :44:23. | :44:28. | |
few British firms provide good and services that could be provhded | :44:29. | :44:33. | |
against the world, export, only one in five British firms do so. Today | :44:34. | :44:41. | |
pull motion refers to the UK's poor export performance. With thd | :44:42. | :44:44. | |
greatest of respect to the party who tabled the motion, I would go | :44:45. | :44:47. | |
further. I think our trade performance over the past 30 years | :44:48. | :44:52. | |
or so has been dire and woeful, declining markedly with no genuine | :44:53. | :44:57. | |
prospect of improvement for the future. The UK accounted for one in | :44:58. | :45:02. | |
ten of the world's exports hn 1 50, now it is less than 3%. Of course | :45:03. | :45:08. | |
emerging economies would always have resulted inevitably in a relative | :45:09. | :45:11. | |
decline of global market sh`re for British goods and services, but not | :45:12. | :45:16. | |
at the rate that the UK has unfortunately experienced. When | :45:17. | :45:20. | |
received the growing world dconomy, we see that world trade is forecast | :45:21. | :45:26. | |
to expand by $250 trillion by 2 50, we should have across the country | :45:27. | :45:32. | |
and with government in a coordinated way, and efforts to ensure that we | :45:33. | :45:35. | |
capture as much of that growth in the world economy as possible for | :45:36. | :45:43. | |
British firms. He is making some very important points. He is right, | :45:44. | :45:48. | |
I believe, in saying there hs a challenge here for more bushnesses | :45:49. | :45:52. | |
to step up to the plate and move into exporting. Does he agrde with | :45:53. | :45:55. | |
me this is symptomatic of a real cultural change that needs to | :45:56. | :45:59. | |
happen, that won't just involve government but also businesses | :46:00. | :46:01. | |
themselves looking at what they have been doing over the last Phtket | :46:02. | :46:03. | |
decades and years and moving further forward? The honourable gentleman | :46:04. | :46:08. | |
has a fantastic track record in talking abott trade | :46:09. | :46:29. | |
and investment and making stre that we boost our sales of exports across | :46:30. | :46:32. | |
the world. He makes an important point, I will come onto that in a | :46:33. | :46:35. | |
moment in respect of which should be a to do. I want to refer to the UK's | :46:36. | :46:39. | |
trade gap in November last xear it was ?3.2 billion. The trade deficit | :46:40. | :46:41. | |
in goods was, and UK exports fell by 0.1%. The lowest growth ratd since | :46:42. | :46:44. | |
the recession, and the only economy to see negative growth in exports. | :46:45. | :46:47. | |
But it is not all doom and gloom. The north-east still has thd only | :46:48. | :46:53. | |
consistent trade surplus in goods. But there is precious littld | :46:54. | :46:58. | |
evidence of the march of thd makers, with modern manufacturing at the | :46:59. | :47:03. | |
heart of a rebalanced econoly. This was reinforced by the ONS | :47:04. | :47:07. | |
publication yesterday, which showed the UK manufacturing sector is now | :47:08. | :47:13. | |
back in recession. I do fear we are sleepwalking back to the | :47:14. | :47:15. | |
long-standing British model, prevalent over the past 40 xears or | :47:16. | :47:20. | |
so of debt fuelled customer consumption, based upon an | :47:21. | :47:22. | |
assumption of ever rising house prizes. That didn't work -- house | :47:23. | :47:28. | |
prices, it didn't work in the past, never has, and is not sustahnable. | :47:29. | :47:35. | |
As has been mentioned sever`l times, the government has set a target of | :47:36. | :47:41. | |
?1 trillion of exports by 2020. I want the government to achidve that, | :47:42. | :47:45. | |
it is good for firms, for the country, and we will see rising | :47:46. | :47:48. | |
economic growth and broadenhng prosperity for everybody, btt it has | :47:49. | :47:52. | |
to be said it is now more or less a given that the government whll fall | :47:53. | :47:57. | |
spectacularly short of this target. Few expect it to be achieved, | :47:58. | :48:00. | |
including the Secretary of State when he came before us in the select | :48:01. | :48:08. | |
committee. The outlook forecast the cash value of exports to be ?64 | :48:09. | :48:13. | |
billion in 2020, 20 3% lower than its March 20 12th forecast. It is | :48:14. | :48:21. | |
not acceptable for this house or the government or the country to simply | :48:22. | :48:26. | |
shrug our shoulders and say it was a tough target, it was unachidvable | :48:27. | :48:30. | |
but at least we had a go. I think we have to be more ambitious than that. | :48:31. | :48:34. | |
It doesn't look on the basis of the evidence that government has even | :48:35. | :48:38. | |
had a go. Strong export performance matters, which is why the sdlect | :48:39. | :48:42. | |
committee has launched an enquiry into exports. We on the seldct | :48:43. | :48:46. | |
committee, and I speak for `ll of us, a number of honourable | :48:47. | :48:50. | |
colleagues in the chamber today who sit on the select committee, we all | :48:51. | :48:53. | |
want to see that trillion pound target achieved but given the | :48:54. | :48:57. | |
enormous shortfall forecast, we need to see a vigorous focus on changing | :48:58. | :49:00. | |
course and in Barking on policies that result in improved performance, | :49:01. | :49:05. | |
and I have not seen the govdrnment to demonstrate that step ch`nge | :49:06. | :49:09. | |
Will the Minister outline what is being done differently to ensure we | :49:10. | :49:13. | |
can get as close to that trhllion pound target as possible? What | :49:14. | :49:17. | |
Bective -- active steps is the government taking to ensure that | :49:18. | :49:20. | |
100,000 more companies are dxporting by 2020? I will respond to the | :49:21. | :49:26. | |
honourable gentleman's intervention. Government does not control this, | :49:27. | :49:29. | |
they can put in place a fralework, but what are firms doing? They might | :49:30. | :49:35. | |
have a good domestic market where they feel comfortable, but how do we | :49:36. | :49:39. | |
ensure that they can almost put their toe in the water of exports? | :49:40. | :49:44. | |
How can they do that? Because they will have important concerns, in | :49:45. | :49:47. | |
respect of don't know the regulations of that country, I don't | :49:48. | :49:51. | |
know the laws. Will I get p`id? It is too much hassle, I will just | :49:52. | :49:56. | |
stick to the domestic market, and we need to encourage that, which brings | :49:57. | :50:01. | |
me to the role of UKTI. Would he accept it may be a challenghng time, | :50:02. | :50:06. | |
but if the government knows and the O BR has indicated that it lay well | :50:07. | :50:11. | |
be missing by 35% already, that there are early warning signs Fer | :50:12. | :50:16. | |
years in that something needs to be done, and therefore action should | :50:17. | :50:21. | |
not be... He is right. Given that we are going to fall spectacul`rly | :50:22. | :50:23. | |
short of this target, what hs the government going to do, in terms of | :50:24. | :50:28. | |
revising its policy towards trade and export to ensure that wd don't | :50:29. | :50:35. | |
miss it by 35% Bubnjic as close to that trillion pound target `s | :50:36. | :50:37. | |
possible? Does the government think UKTI is fit for purpose? Is it | :50:38. | :50:40. | |
significantly corrective to work with British firms to identhfy and | :50:41. | :50:45. | |
navigate foreign markets? Wd have seen some degree of turbulence, cuts | :50:46. | :50:49. | |
in funding and destruction that the top of its management. What does the | :50:50. | :50:56. | |
government think? Misses to answer that directly, there is a lot of | :50:57. | :51:03. | |
reform that can be achieved, but with the honourable member for East | :51:04. | :51:07. | |
Lothian, would he agree that it was wrong when he said the formdr CEO of | :51:08. | :51:11. | |
UKTI had resigned because of the budget cuts? And would he agree with | :51:12. | :51:19. | |
me that Mrs journeyman moved to the foreign Commonwealth office to take | :51:20. | :51:23. | |
up a new office there. And then there was a new head of UKTH, and | :51:24. | :51:29. | |
she was put in before there was any change in the funding. Would he also | :51:30. | :51:35. | |
confirmed that UKTI's budget, the amount from days, in 2014 to 15 was | :51:36. | :51:42. | |
264.1 million, and for the xear 15 to 16, 338 million pounds? The right | :51:43. | :51:51. | |
Honourable Lady is very informed in terms of clarifying in terms of | :51:52. | :51:54. | |
personnel changes, I think that is incredibly important. The honourable | :51:55. | :52:01. | |
gentlemen, the member of thd Cotswold, said in terms of | :52:02. | :52:05. | |
benchmarking UKTI against other comparable trade organisations | :52:06. | :52:08. | |
around the world, are we getting value for money for the tax payer, I | :52:09. | :52:12. | |
think it is an important thhng and something the select committee's | :52:13. | :52:17. | |
enquiry can look at. This is not an academic exercise. In the f`st, it | :52:18. | :52:22. | |
was so significant to have ` trade deficit that you could bring down a | :52:23. | :52:26. | |
government with it. I am far too young to remember, and I wasn't born | :52:27. | :52:37. | |
in the 1970 election, but I have read about it in history, I know | :52:38. | :52:40. | |
some people might have even been in this chamber talking about ht. | :52:41. | :52:41. | |
LAUGHTER That is how important trade | :52:42. | :52:45. | |
performance to be in the past. It seems to have lost that in fact of | :52:46. | :52:49. | |
the modern age but I think we should highlight the 14th of trade | :52:50. | :52:53. | |
deficits. Poor performance hn overseas markets act as a rdal drag | :52:54. | :52:57. | |
on competitiveness, producthvity and rising living standards fall. The | :52:58. | :53:01. | |
government should focus mord attention on this and how it will | :53:02. | :53:05. | |
change track to achieve its targets. I think the whole house would be | :53:06. | :53:08. | |
behind the Minister and the government if she could demonstrate | :53:09. | :53:09. | |
that. Thank you very much. It is `lways a | :53:10. | :53:17. | |
great pleasure to follow thd chair of the select committee. He gave an | :53:18. | :53:27. | |
interesting speech. It had ` fair balance, I think. Bigger and | :53:28. | :53:33. | |
criticism and positive views, too. Somewhat in contrast with the speech | :53:34. | :53:41. | |
by the opposition front bench, who in both content and deliverx | :53:42. | :53:48. | |
reminded me somewhat of the Brezhnev era, with its catalogue of | :53:49. | :53:56. | |
unremitting misery. But, hex, that is what... | :53:57. | :53:58. | |
LAUGHTER I shall spare the blushes of the | :53:59. | :54:04. | |
member of the chair of the select committee for business but H would | :54:05. | :54:08. | |
just say that unremitting mhsery is clearly what you get with socialism, | :54:09. | :54:13. | |
which is what this country # Why this country has conshstently | :54:14. | :54:20. | |
rejected it. I would like to add to the positive views by making some | :54:21. | :54:26. | |
comments of my own. I do thhs with a bit of humility. If we were to look | :54:27. | :54:30. | |
at the very important point that are in this debate, and if I max make | :54:31. | :54:36. | |
one more point about the Labour Party, we are debating important | :54:37. | :54:40. | |
points raised today. The ch`ir of the business select committde must | :54:41. | :54:43. | |
be absolutely embarrassed that he only has two Labour colleagtes in | :54:44. | :54:48. | |
the chamber, including the whip who is supposed to get people in the | :54:49. | :54:52. | |
chamber to take part in deb`tes so let's hope that as we progrdss to | :54:53. | :54:57. | |
date we see a bit more commhtment from the Labour Party to thd | :54:58. | :55:00. | |
entrepreneurs, small businesses and the wealth creators in our country. | :55:01. | :55:05. | |
We do, though, have to understand Government policies and deb`te the | :55:06. | :55:10. | |
issues we debated today in the context of a long period of time. I | :55:11. | :55:15. | |
think the opening spokesman for the SNP made absolutely the right point, | :55:16. | :55:19. | |
these are long-standing isstes, but we are now going into a perhod of | :55:20. | :55:25. | |
overcapacity and production and the transition of some may major | :55:26. | :55:32. | |
economies. That will have an impact on the ability of companies | :55:33. | :55:34. | |
everywhere in the world to dxport, and also I think in this we will | :55:35. | :55:40. | |
disagree, in -- an important part when the British governed h`s to | :55:41. | :55:43. | |
start living within our means. Both of those things have been stmmed up | :55:44. | :55:49. | |
quite rightly by the Chancellor in terms of seeking stability `nd | :55:50. | :55:52. | |
security. These are important issues but on the issue of trade of | :55:53. | :55:57. | |
innovation and productivity, the entrepreneurs and business people | :55:58. | :55:59. | |
who think about that everyd`y, I think quite low down their list for | :56:00. | :56:04. | |
solutions to those questions will be the phrase, I better go and ask my | :56:05. | :56:09. | |
member of Parliament. Because the truth is that the innovations, the | :56:10. | :56:14. | |
exports, and the trade that we do, will be done by those indivhduals | :56:15. | :56:18. | |
and I am a strong believer hn freak market capitalism. I missed wrong -- | :56:19. | :56:31. | |
in free-market capitalism. One of the benefits of the election was the | :56:32. | :56:36. | |
change in the minister for business, having someone who understands the | :56:37. | :56:39. | |
motivation of the person who does not talk in the years, perh`ps not | :56:40. | :56:44. | |
millions, but is taking that first step, that first risk to invest | :56:45. | :56:51. | |
their own money, whether in Scotland, Bedford or other parts of | :56:52. | :56:54. | |
the world. On the issue of statistics that we talked about we | :56:55. | :56:58. | |
should just bear in mind, bdcause a number of members have talkdd about | :56:59. | :57:03. | |
the persistent current accotnt in balance in the UK. It has bden there | :57:04. | :57:08. | |
for so long, we haven't really fallen apart, have we? So there must | :57:09. | :57:13. | |
be something about that that must be hidden or going OK, and secondly, | :57:14. | :57:21. | |
statistics, statistics and... Remember trade statistics do not | :57:22. | :57:25. | |
include value added, and ond of the important changes in global trade in | :57:26. | :57:29. | |
the last 30 years has been the addition of value added in sectors | :57:30. | :57:34. | |
and that may point a differdnt picture. A thoughtful contrhbution | :57:35. | :57:40. | |
and most of what he says interesting and potentially accurate, btt even | :57:41. | :57:47. | |
he, I am sure, will want to agree that it is worrying, when wd see | :57:48. | :57:53. | |
contribution to GDP growth from exports continually marked down in | :57:54. | :57:57. | |
forecast after forecast aftdr forecast, so where there max well be | :57:58. | :58:05. | |
good, hidden things, the general trend is working against growth in | :58:06. | :58:10. | |
the economy. I was just abott to agree entirely with what thd | :58:11. | :58:13. | |
honourable member says, bec`use I thought it was talking about | :58:14. | :58:17. | |
forecasting accuracy, a tophc upon which the SNP has a very good track | :58:18. | :58:22. | |
record, but the issue, I thhnk, is fair... The issue on marking down | :58:23. | :58:29. | |
does point to the frailty of setting targets, and I think it is ` fair | :58:30. | :58:35. | |
criticism of all governments when it is easy to set targets and difficult | :58:36. | :58:39. | |
to meet some of them. Let md turn to a couple of specific points in terms | :58:40. | :58:45. | |
of what the Government can or should be digging. A number of honourable | :58:46. | :58:50. | |
members talked about the Government's productivity plan, and | :58:51. | :58:54. | |
is very broad nature. I must say, I see it more as an implement`tion | :58:55. | :58:59. | |
plan. It is about how we implement things rather than the varidty of | :59:00. | :59:04. | |
outcomes that have an overall impact on productivity. Secondly, the | :59:05. | :59:07. | |
Government policy on the living wage will in itself provide a substantial | :59:08. | :59:12. | |
increase in terms of Labour productivity. The living wage is in | :59:13. | :59:17. | |
essence a 38% pay increase for the lowest paid workers in our country. | :59:18. | :59:22. | |
I'm sure the Government havd factored in the impact that will | :59:23. | :59:27. | |
have. I will give way in ond second. The implications for compar`bility. | :59:28. | :59:34. | |
That very nature of a Government push to increase the wages for our | :59:35. | :59:39. | |
hardest workers and lowest paid workers will have a positivd impact | :59:40. | :59:43. | |
in a market economy in improving Labour productivity. Thank xou. On | :59:44. | :59:49. | |
the matter of the living wage, I think it is important to cl`rify in | :59:50. | :59:54. | |
this House as has been disctssed previously that the increasd in the | :59:55. | :59:59. | |
national minimum wage by thd UK Government is not in fact the living | :00:00. | :00:04. | |
wage that has been set by a number of independent bodies, and they must | :00:05. | :00:09. | |
recognise that. She is facttally correct but it is like having a | :00:10. | :00:15. | |
beautiful sunny day with soleone consistently wanting to put a cloud. | :00:16. | :00:22. | |
This is a major and very significant change in the British econoly. All | :00:23. | :00:25. | |
of us should be looking to the businesses who have to now pay that | :00:26. | :00:29. | |
increase in wages to ensure they are able to do that without leading to | :00:30. | :00:35. | |
unemployment, and if we can focus on that, then some of her other | :00:36. | :00:39. | |
concerns about another level of this we can move to, I think we should do | :00:40. | :00:43. | |
that. Let's join together, support what the Government has dond, make | :00:44. | :00:46. | |
sure our businesses can deal with that, and then look to the next | :00:47. | :00:49. | |
stage, because there is comlon agreement across this House that we | :00:50. | :00:54. | |
have got things too far into disparity. Thirdly on productivity, | :00:55. | :00:59. | |
the impact of the squeeze in public sector is in of itself identifying | :01:00. | :01:02. | |
new ways to improve the productivity we do not -- and we do not talk | :01:03. | :01:09. | |
enough about that impact on the economy. I would have been happier | :01:10. | :01:14. | |
to take a larger reduction hn the department's budget, the Department | :01:15. | :01:21. | |
for the, to get the deficit down. -- Department for business, but I | :01:22. | :01:23. | |
understand that perhaps somdthing is being held back for later. Finally, | :01:24. | :01:29. | |
the sharing economy, which `gain are committed is looking at, it is also | :01:30. | :01:40. | |
a another positive or productivity will stop I was very pleased to hear | :01:41. | :01:44. | |
the ministers say that she was looking at all would talk to the | :01:45. | :01:50. | |
possibility in which new waxs in which tax policy could support | :01:51. | :01:57. | |
equity in business, in parthcular enabling Isas to involve th`t, as | :01:58. | :02:01. | |
proposed in the excellent high-growth small-business report | :02:02. | :02:04. | |
launched by my honourable friend the member for Hartlepool. I took to the | :02:05. | :02:12. | |
last Secretary of State the Bedford business burned, an idea whdre | :02:13. | :02:17. | |
people who cared about a colmunity could put money into a fund to | :02:18. | :02:21. | |
support the growth of busindsses in Bedford. We do not have the | :02:22. | :02:25. | |
advantages of Milton Keynes, Cambridge or Northampton, whth large | :02:26. | :02:28. | |
businesses or science parks. We have to grow our own businesses. A fund | :02:29. | :02:37. | |
in which people in a communhty can invest in grooming businessds - | :02:38. | :02:44. | |
running businesses in their community is an idea which H think | :02:45. | :02:48. | |
can be expanded. Building on the success that Bedford has had in its | :02:49. | :02:55. | |
fund, I am now taking forward the idea of a Bedford community business | :02:56. | :02:58. | |
school, so working in conjunction with the school... This is ` series | :02:59. | :03:05. | |
of courses where anyone in the committee interested in starting a | :03:06. | :03:09. | |
business can have a series over a four-week period of learning about | :03:10. | :03:13. | |
PR and marketing, how to do accountancy, finance from btsiness, | :03:14. | :03:17. | |
and the idea of community btsiness schools is an idea that can be | :03:18. | :03:22. | |
replicated across the country. Finally, I want to make somd points | :03:23. | :03:27. | |
specifically about the business department. I have spoken already | :03:28. | :03:31. | |
about the potential for further reductions in the budget for | :03:32. | :03:35. | |
business and I know the minhster is a little more fun than I am of | :03:36. | :03:40. | |
spending taxpayers' money -, a little more fond. She would always | :03:41. | :03:45. | |
look for efficiency. One of the constant things we hear frol | :03:46. | :03:49. | |
businesses, Government does a lot of stuff but where do I start? So | :03:50. | :03:54. | |
decluttering and providing some focus to what the business | :03:55. | :03:58. | |
department does, I think, would be a help. And may I make one spdcific | :03:59. | :04:04. | |
suggestion? You are going to be able to log on and see your own tax | :04:05. | :04:10. | |
accounts at HM C. Why is it not possible in the business department, | :04:11. | :04:14. | |
using a tax identification number for a company for them to bd able to | :04:15. | :04:18. | |
log on to the business department website and see in one placd all of | :04:19. | :04:23. | |
the possible ideas that are suitable for their business and Taylor to the | :04:24. | :04:28. | |
specific interests of their Anthony? You will know whether it is a large | :04:29. | :04:33. | |
or small company. The sector it works in. We did a's technology we | :04:34. | :04:38. | |
should be able to have upfront and quickly the measures the Government | :04:39. | :04:42. | |
is taking that are there to support them. On deregulation, for le | :04:43. | :04:49. | |
companies, the issue is not so much how much money is being savdd, it is | :04:50. | :04:55. | |
how much time is being saved. Very grateful. I find this quite amusing | :04:56. | :05:00. | |
because he is actually now encouraging me to spend taxpayers' | :05:01. | :05:06. | |
money on a survey. It sounds like a great idea but would he agrde that | :05:07. | :05:09. | |
this is actually something that the private sector could do even better, | :05:10. | :05:14. | |
and in particular for small businesses, said there is | :05:15. | :05:17. | |
effectively a one-stop shop website where they can go to and get also | :05:18. | :05:24. | |
some access to all the various supports available to them? We do | :05:25. | :05:28. | |
not need taxpayers' money to achieve that. The minister is being somewhat | :05:29. | :05:33. | |
in genius in suggesting that I would want to spend taxpayers' money on | :05:34. | :05:36. | |
this. The issue is not the loney, it is the access to the business | :05:37. | :05:44. | |
department information. If the minister today is committing that | :05:45. | :05:51. | |
the business department... She built force the business department to | :05:52. | :05:53. | |
deal with private sector colpanies that want to create that portal of | :05:54. | :05:58. | |
access and given free range to do that, I'm sure she will see private | :05:59. | :06:02. | |
capital flooding into but it needs a commitment, it needs access, and | :06:03. | :06:09. | |
that is how his vision, not mine. -- her decision, not mine. I should | :06:10. | :06:16. | |
think so too. I will think `bout it because I think it has many | :06:17. | :06:18. | |
attractions, I can understand there may be things about data protection | :06:19. | :06:23. | |
but why don't we agreed to leet and have this discussion and sed what we | :06:24. | :06:29. | |
can achieve? I'm looking forward to the minister coming back with a | :06:30. | :06:32. | |
recommendation to the House and of course I would be happy to leet when | :06:33. | :06:38. | |
she has that recommendation. People say that is unfair but the truth is | :06:39. | :06:42. | |
I think there is a very poshtive initiative here. The one thhng we | :06:43. | :06:47. | |
know about the right honour`ble member for Broxtowe is that when she | :06:48. | :06:50. | |
sees there is a problem to be tackled, she will go for it, and | :06:51. | :06:55. | |
heaven help you if you stand in her way, so I am just highlighthng to my | :06:56. | :07:01. | |
friend, the minister, that there is an opportunity here. She is the | :07:02. | :07:04. | |
right person to go for it and of course I will support her btt the | :07:05. | :07:08. | |
most broadening highlighted by the motion from the SNP which I shall | :07:09. | :07:12. | |
not be supporting is that they are coming forward with ideas on some of | :07:13. | :07:14. | |
the most important issues to affect the well-being of our country. With | :07:15. | :07:20. | |
all the contributions today, even though MPs may be low down on the | :07:21. | :07:27. | |
list because of -- I think they have done a service to this Housd and I | :07:28. | :07:29. | |
commend them for it. The last six years have seen an | :07:30. | :07:41. | |
amazing deterioration of Brhtain's external trading position. The | :07:42. | :07:47. | |
purpose is simply to get on the record how bad it is and to try to | :07:48. | :07:50. | |
encourage the government to do something about it. Is that there | :07:51. | :08:00. | |
has been a global depression, we are bound to lose some track and | :08:01. | :08:08. | |
markets. In those six years, the point is, since this governlent came | :08:09. | :08:12. | |
to power, world exports havd increased by 30%. The world market | :08:13. | :08:17. | |
for sales has been growing extensively. If you lose market | :08:18. | :08:23. | |
traction in that situation, then what will you do if the global | :08:24. | :08:29. | |
economy does start to contr`ct overall. The normal situation when | :08:30. | :08:38. | |
you get domestic recession hs is that your own industry is forced to | :08:39. | :08:43. | |
start to export. So, strangdly enough, if you look at Europe, the | :08:44. | :08:47. | |
core Eurozone countries that have suffered the worst from Eurozone | :08:48. | :08:52. | |
crisis, they have actually done well in exporting, they had nowhdre else | :08:53. | :08:57. | |
to go, they had to export. So, Spain, Italy have doubled their | :08:58. | :09:01. | |
exports since 2010. Ireland, which had a catastrophic fiscal inclusion, | :09:02. | :09:10. | |
is now selling more in exports than it has ever done in its history So | :09:11. | :09:15. | |
the point that we are trying to make to the government, they are | :09:16. | :09:22. | |
pretending everything is all right in the international sector, it | :09:23. | :09:25. | |
belies the fact that in that six-year period when they should | :09:26. | :09:29. | |
have been concentrating on turning round British exports and focusing | :09:30. | :09:34. | |
on increasing our exports and creating a bigger market sh`re, they | :09:35. | :09:37. | |
have failed totally. They kdep adding it off, keep thinking another | :09:38. | :09:41. | |
plan and it will get better. In fact, if you look at the nulbers, | :09:42. | :09:45. | |
the numbers have been repeated in a number of speeches. In 2014, the | :09:46. | :09:49. | |
last year we have full figures, UK current account deficit camd to 5.1% | :09:50. | :09:56. | |
of GDP. The honourable membdr for Bedford has mentioned that. I will | :09:57. | :10:03. | |
reply to his query does it latter? If you run a current account | :10:04. | :10:07. | |
deficit, you have to to fill it somehow, you have to either borrow | :10:08. | :10:10. | |
foreign currency from other countries, or you have to sdll your | :10:11. | :10:14. | |
assets into the ownership of other countries. So it is no surprise | :10:15. | :10:18. | |
therefore that large chunks of British industry are now owned | :10:19. | :10:23. | |
abroad, our property market, owned abroad. In fact, the governlent s | :10:24. | :10:29. | |
obsession with trying to cure its own fiscal deficit has only resulted | :10:30. | :10:34. | |
in transferring the deficit to somebody else. And everybodx knows | :10:35. | :10:39. | |
that when you hit something like 5% or more of your GDP as your current | :10:40. | :10:45. | |
account deficit, your warning signs are flashing up in market places all | :10:46. | :10:49. | |
over the world, that is unsustainable. You run that the two, | :10:50. | :10:53. | |
three, four years and you h`ve already got a quarter of yotr GDP in | :10:54. | :10:58. | |
hock. You cannot continue to do that, yes in normal circumstances | :10:59. | :11:03. | |
the UK has typically ran a current account deficit, but a tiny fraction | :11:04. | :11:09. | |
of its GDP. 2014 was the worst performance, in terms of current | :11:10. | :11:13. | |
account deficit for the UK hn peace time. That is the government the -- | :11:14. | :11:17. | |
problem the government is rdfusing to recognise. | :11:18. | :11:26. | |
Total production data for the UK, if you strip out the important | :11:27. | :11:34. | |
components, UK manufacturing output is now less than it was in value in | :11:35. | :11:40. | |
2000. During that period, Gdrmany has managed to increase by 22%. I | :11:41. | :11:52. | |
think it would be quite reasonable to say we are almost back whth a | :11:53. | :11:56. | |
second wave of deindustrialhsation. A lot of that has come sincd 20 0. | :11:57. | :12:08. | |
time, but just this period of the time, but just this | :12:09. | :12:13. | |
last X years when there was not a national emergency, something could | :12:14. | :12:18. | |
be done. The Chancellor did not focus on what he said he was going | :12:19. | :12:21. | |
to focus on, which was to rdbalance the economy. He promised belatedly | :12:22. | :12:32. | |
in 2012 that he would incre`se double exports. That was a | :12:33. | :12:43. | |
ridiculous promise then. If they just lay that target site, | :12:44. | :12:47. | |
concentrate on the practical nuts and bolts of our exports, then we | :12:48. | :12:52. | |
might move forward. As long as the Chancellor comes up with thd fancy | :12:53. | :12:55. | |
proposals and doesn't delivdr, then we on the opposition benches can | :12:56. | :13:06. | |
reasonably say you are not serious? Whatnots and bolts does he think are | :13:07. | :13:08. | |
missing from the government's package at the moment? It is long on | :13:09. | :13:14. | |
rhetoric, I understand that, about the shape of our export performance, | :13:15. | :13:18. | |
but the government has done a huge amount to support those exporters. | :13:19. | :13:22. | |
We have been languishing in the depths of a Euro wide recession I | :13:23. | :13:29. | |
take your general point, and I don't gainsay a number of the | :13:30. | :13:33. | |
micro-decisions the governmdnt has taken, but you are not seeing the | :13:34. | :13:38. | |
wood for the trees. Let's sde why it is that we cannot get more | :13:39. | :13:42. | |
investment into the manufacturing industry, why it is that thd whole | :13:43. | :13:46. | |
tenure of the economy is anti-export. It goes to the heart of | :13:47. | :13:51. | |
how the Chancellor has concdived his role, he tells us that we h`ve | :13:52. | :13:58. | |
growth. But where did the growth come from? Where has it comd from in | :13:59. | :14:03. | |
the last six years? It has come from pumping up consumption, not from | :14:04. | :14:06. | |
investing in investment, not from selling abroad. It is from pumping | :14:07. | :14:12. | |
up domestic consumption, and where did the extra consumption come from? | :14:13. | :14:16. | |
Did it come from wages, there has been some wage growth in thd last | :14:17. | :14:20. | |
few years, but if you look `t the most recent statistics, pay growth | :14:21. | :14:23. | |
is now slumped to its lowest rate in two years, so it is not comhng from | :14:24. | :14:27. | |
pay. It is coming from borrowing. Look at the latest consumer | :14:28. | :14:33. | |
borrowing figures. Consumer borrowing on credit cards and | :14:34. | :14:36. | |
overdrafts is now expanding at its fastest rate since the financial | :14:37. | :14:42. | |
crisis. Unsecured consumer credit was up by 8.3% in November. | :14:43. | :14:48. | |
Consumers borrow an extra 1.5 billion unsecured in Novembdr alone | :14:49. | :14:52. | |
in the run-up to Christmas. In a period where we are facing the | :14:53. | :14:56. | |
potential of rising interest rates, we have merely returned to | :14:57. | :15:01. | |
unsustainable consumer debt in order to carry growth forward into 20 6. | :15:02. | :15:06. | |
Yes, there has been growth, but the growth has come from borrowhng. All | :15:07. | :15:11. | |
the government has done is to transfer fiscal deficit frol public | :15:12. | :15:14. | |
sector to private individuals who are even less able to bear ht. I | :15:15. | :15:20. | |
understand the point he is trying to make but I think he is making it too | :15:21. | :15:23. | |
strongly to say that governlent policy is anti-export. That is not | :15:24. | :15:26. | |
the case. What the government has been trying to do is navigate its | :15:27. | :15:31. | |
way through very difficult dconomic situation, as I'm sure the | :15:32. | :15:34. | |
honourable member for Dunded East would agree. That is not thd | :15:35. | :15:37. | |
intention and I think he ovdrstates his case too far. I am glad we have | :15:38. | :15:43. | |
moved on from me being wrong to me overstating the case, we might be | :15:44. | :15:49. | |
making some progress! To repeat the point is in the depth of a crisis | :15:50. | :15:54. | |
like this, the way you move from unsafe bailable bet is to move to | :15:55. | :15:59. | |
export led growth. That is ,- from unsustainable debt. That is what | :16:00. | :16:02. | |
some of the key countries who suffered worst from the recdssion, | :16:03. | :16:06. | |
from the Euro crisis, they have done that, and we have not even begun to | :16:07. | :16:11. | |
do it. If we can only do ond thing today, it is to persuade thd | :16:12. | :16:14. | |
government benches that that is the case, then we might have made | :16:15. | :16:18. | |
progress. He makes some intdresting points in his speech, but whll he | :16:19. | :16:22. | |
recognise that those countrhes have had far more severe fiscal | :16:23. | :16:25. | |
consolidation is that we have had in Britain? Indeed I do, that was my | :16:26. | :16:30. | |
point, but they have still lanaged, in the case of Italy and Sp`in and | :16:31. | :16:35. | |
Ireland, to double their ex,ports. One thing the Chancellor sahd he | :16:36. | :16:38. | |
wanted to do but hasn't even begun to do. Let me just move on briefly. | :16:39. | :16:43. | |
Why hasn't the Chancellor bden able to rebalance the economy? The truth | :16:44. | :16:49. | |
is, under this Chancellor, previous chancellors began it, but | :16:50. | :16:53. | |
particularly under this Chancellor, Britain has a taxation systdm that | :16:54. | :16:57. | |
actually favours investment in physical property rather th`n | :16:58. | :17:01. | |
long-term investment in manufacturing, and it has continued | :17:02. | :17:04. | |
to have the banking and fin`ncial system that actually prioritises | :17:05. | :17:09. | |
common use an extreme word, gambling, gambling of money, foreign | :17:10. | :17:12. | |
exchange markets, rather th`n supporting manufacturing and | :17:13. | :17:19. | |
innovation. One example, Brhtain's premier engineering company is | :17:20. | :17:26. | |
Rolls-Royce. A company that we needed to rely on as our fl`gship if | :17:27. | :17:29. | |
we were going to rebalance the economy towards manufacturing and | :17:30. | :17:35. | |
exports. Let's look at the tragic history of Rolls-Royce in the last | :17:36. | :17:42. | |
two years. Just over a year ago Rolls-Royce sold off its gas turbine | :17:43. | :17:49. | |
business to Siemons. The thhrd largest export industry in the UK -- | :17:50. | :17:59. | |
sold it after two Siemens. What to do with ?1 billion? Did Rolls-Royce | :18:00. | :18:03. | |
invested in a new wave of innovation, did it invest in new | :18:04. | :18:08. | |
technology, do more research? No, the nature of the fiscal system was | :18:09. | :18:12. | |
that it was easier for Rolls-Royce management to use that billhon | :18:13. | :18:20. | |
pounds to buy back its shards. And that is reinforced by the ctts we | :18:21. | :18:24. | |
have had in corporation tax. I am not in favour of raising corporation | :18:25. | :18:28. | |
tax, I think fiscal incentives are good for industry, but the | :18:29. | :18:32. | |
Chancellor continued to cut corporation tax, when he kndw that | :18:33. | :18:37. | |
most of the money would acttally go into share by own products. | :18:38. | :18:43. | |
Rolls-Royce by buying back hts own shares, it share price is something | :18:44. | :18:46. | |
like ?10 at the early part of last year, where is the share prhce now? | :18:47. | :18:53. | |
Half that. Our premier engineering company is now in a disastrous | :18:54. | :18:58. | |
emotional state. In fact, that halving of the share price leans | :18:59. | :19:02. | |
that the billion pounds it got from selling off its key turbine business | :19:03. | :19:10. | |
to Siemens has been wiped ott. Meanwhile, the market has c`ught up | :19:11. | :19:15. | |
on Rolls-Royce. Its key salds for engines, large wide-bodied jets | :19:16. | :19:19. | |
those sales have started drxing up, the market has moved on to new jet | :19:20. | :19:26. | |
engines for narrow bodied jdts. The Americans are cleaning up, because | :19:27. | :19:29. | |
the Americans had the product ready to go into that market. So | :19:30. | :19:33. | |
Rolls-Royce is now in seriots trouble, in fact there was now talk | :19:34. | :19:37. | |
in the city of it being takdn over, possibly by... Would be honourable | :19:38. | :19:42. | |
gentleman agree with me it hs very important in this house that we do | :19:43. | :19:46. | |
not talk down one of the most outstanding British success stories, | :19:47. | :19:50. | |
and given that he has already given this house incorrect inform`tion | :19:51. | :19:55. | |
about the moving on the head of the UKTI, would he please agree with me, | :19:56. | :19:59. | |
it is very important that the information he continues to put in | :20:00. | :20:02. | |
this house is accurate, bec`use it hasn't been so far, and would he | :20:03. | :20:07. | |
agreed to withdraw his commdnts about Dominic Journey and hhs moving | :20:08. | :20:12. | |
on into the FCA? I will continue with what I was saying, Minhster, I | :20:13. | :20:21. | |
am not talking down on anyone. I am trying to get the government to | :20:22. | :20:24. | |
admit there is something seriously wrong, know I won't, I will | :20:25. | :20:33. | |
continue. Madam Speaker, is it not important that all members, when | :20:34. | :20:36. | |
they make a mistake, correct that mistake so that the record can show | :20:37. | :20:42. | |
when they have given an inaccurate account of this house, especially | :20:43. | :20:45. | |
about someone who doesn't h`ve the ability to speak in this pl`ce, and | :20:46. | :20:50. | |
that if somebody else gives a contrary view that is based on sound | :20:51. | :20:55. | |
information, it is beholden on the member to accept, because wd all | :20:56. | :20:59. | |
make mistakes, if you have lade a mistake, just accept it? I think the | :21:00. | :21:06. | |
honour all lady knows it is entirely up to the member who has made the | :21:07. | :21:09. | |
statement whether or not he wishes to withdraw it or not, or to correct | :21:10. | :21:15. | |
the record, but the minister has herself now twice corrected the | :21:16. | :21:20. | |
record, so we shall move on. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, H am | :21:21. | :21:24. | |
always willing to bow to thd chair if ever I am found to have lade | :21:25. | :21:28. | |
erroneous remarks of the ch`mber, I will always withdraw them and we can | :21:29. | :21:34. | |
come back to that. But of course the Minister has intervened bec`use she | :21:35. | :21:38. | |
wishes to continue to say that those of us who raise serious points about | :21:39. | :21:42. | |
our poor economic performance are talking down British industry. Far | :21:43. | :21:45. | |
from it, I am passionate about British industry, I want industry to | :21:46. | :21:50. | |
grow. It is the fact the government is not doing its job on this that is | :21:51. | :21:56. | |
the problem. I have profound respect for Rolls-Royce and the history of | :21:57. | :21:59. | |
Rolls-Royce, for what it has contributed to this country. During | :22:00. | :22:04. | |
World War II, Rolls-Royce M`in engineering factory was in Glasgow. | :22:05. | :22:08. | |
The engines that powered thd Spitfires that saved Western Europe | :22:09. | :22:13. | |
and democracy in 1940, the dngines were being produced in Glasgow by | :22:14. | :22:20. | |
Rolls-Royce. I am second to none in my admiration of that company and | :22:21. | :22:23. | |
its engineering history. I `m worried, though, that we ard now | :22:24. | :22:26. | |
talking about that company being taken over by American aerospace | :22:27. | :22:31. | |
companies because of situathon it is in. I am now worried, and it has | :22:32. | :22:36. | |
been a matter of press commdnt in recent weeks, that the government | :22:37. | :22:39. | |
may have to consider taking over parts of Rolls-Royce, its ntclear | :22:40. | :22:45. | |
engineering division, if anxthing goes wrong and Rolls-Royce were God | :22:46. | :22:49. | |
forbid, to be taken over by a foreign company. Then discovered | :22:50. | :22:54. | |
that would be talking about nationalising bits of Rolls,Royce. I | :22:55. | :22:58. | |
think that is quite a seriots pass to have come to. | :22:59. | :23:04. | |
I thank the honourable gentleman for giving way. And important point | :23:05. | :23:13. | |
about hostile foreign takeovers one of the most important ones recently | :23:14. | :23:18. | |
was the attempt to take over AstraZeneca. I am sure that the | :23:19. | :23:22. | |
honourable gentleman would `gree that that case concluded in the | :23:23. | :23:26. | |
right way, protecting one of the great British assets and en`bling it | :23:27. | :23:31. | |
to continue its long-term strategies of investment in innovation and | :23:32. | :23:36. | |
technology. Would the honourable gentleman agree that this should be | :23:37. | :23:42. | |
seen as a case for perhaps ` reform of the Companies Act? So we see far | :23:43. | :23:48. | |
more long term is being built into the UK's corporate culture, so that | :23:49. | :23:54. | |
we move to investing in resdarch and develop mud and innovation `nd | :23:55. | :23:56. | |
skills because if we don't will never change to a more sust`inable | :23:57. | :24:02. | |
business model. I couldn't `gree more with my honourable fridnd. One | :24:03. | :24:06. | |
of the issues that has led to this short term outlook in the l`st 0-30 | :24:07. | :24:13. | |
years is the fact that comp`nies are not in a position to think long term | :24:14. | :24:17. | |
themselves because the way that the City of London runs is that their | :24:18. | :24:21. | |
shares are always in play. We need some form of company reform that | :24:22. | :24:26. | |
allows investment to happen without it being subject to shares being | :24:27. | :24:29. | |
shorted or issues like I've just mentioned with Rolls-Royce `nd other | :24:30. | :24:34. | |
companies, whether money should have gone into real investment. @n | :24:35. | :24:41. | |
interesting issue and I think the honourable member is making an | :24:42. | :24:44. | |
important point about long-term investment. It is already on the | :24:45. | :24:48. | |
agenda, not least to the Bank of England with the chief economist | :24:49. | :24:52. | |
raised a point about long-tdrm investment and contract law and the | :24:53. | :24:56. | |
need to encourage firms not just to think about shareholding but about | :24:57. | :25:00. | |
long-term investment. Does he agree that that is the kind of thhng we | :25:01. | :25:04. | |
need to see to encourage sm`ller firms to become bigger firms, | :25:05. | :25:08. | |
especially in the nature of the kind of firm we need to see in the | :25:09. | :25:15. | |
manufacturing sector? Indeed, Madam Deputy Speaker, I could not agree | :25:16. | :25:19. | |
more that what is missing in the UK industrial structure is medhum-sized | :25:20. | :25:25. | |
companies which export and create a value chain. Indeed we have a small | :25:26. | :25:31. | |
number of very large companhes and a large number of very small | :25:32. | :25:34. | |
companies. One reason we haven't been able to do that is that | :25:35. | :25:42. | |
companies, when they grow to a certain extent need to sell out | :25:43. | :25:46. | |
usually to foreign ownership, to raise capital. This brings le to | :25:47. | :25:53. | |
another issue. I will not bd longer, Madam Deputy Speaker. It coles to an | :25:54. | :25:57. | |
issue that was raised by my honourable friend from Bedford when | :25:58. | :26:03. | |
he referred to the current `ccount deficit. Normally we have bden able | :26:04. | :26:10. | |
to fill this deficit on a slaller basis by the fact that financial | :26:11. | :26:17. | |
remits from acid is owned bx British companies or citizens abroad, the | :26:18. | :26:20. | |
money coming back has outwehghed the money going back out of the UK from | :26:21. | :26:28. | |
assets owned by foreign concerns. What has changed since 2010, | :26:29. | :26:34. | |
dramatically, under the auspices of this government, is the bal`nce | :26:35. | :26:39. | |
between the ownership of assets in the UK and the remit of funds abroad | :26:40. | :26:45. | |
this is the ownership of UK assets owned abroad and money coming back | :26:46. | :26:53. | |
here. -- versus the ownershhp. The total value of British overseas | :26:54. | :26:57. | |
assets since 2010 has slippdd to about ?1.2 trillion. In that period | :26:58. | :27:04. | |
the value of UK assets held by foreigners has soared from 0 | :27:05. | :27:08. | |
trillion to ?1.4 trillion. Hn other words we are now... What we own | :27:09. | :27:15. | |
abroad is less than what is owned to you. In the balance of things the | :27:16. | :27:21. | |
net outflow of money will mdan that we cannot cover our current account | :27:22. | :27:26. | |
deficit. The last year for which we have figures, 2014, there w`s a bare | :27:27. | :27:39. | |
surplus of ?2 billion in terms of a positive FDI coming in opposed to | :27:40. | :27:44. | |
money going out. That I think has led the Chancellor into dangerous | :27:45. | :27:49. | |
grounds. This is where we lhnk another aspect of financial wheeling | :27:50. | :27:56. | |
and dealing in the UK versus the need for manufacturing investment. | :27:57. | :28:04. | |
The fundamental way we have been covering our current account deficit | :28:05. | :28:07. | |
recently is by the huge inflow of money buying up property in the UK, | :28:08. | :28:12. | |
especially property in the City Wealthy investors have acquhred | :28:13. | :28:17. | |
about ?100 billion worth of property in London using blind oversdas | :28:18. | :28:21. | |
companies in the last six ydars Since 2008 that have been around | :28:22. | :28:26. | |
28,000 individual purchases of homes, buildings and land in the | :28:27. | :28:31. | |
capital by corporate structtres registered in external tax havens. | :28:32. | :28:35. | |
One in ten properties in Westminster is owned by an offshore firl. We are | :28:36. | :28:41. | |
funding our current account deficit by allowing a vast influx of cash | :28:42. | :28:46. | |
from sure companies coming hn buying property here and we do not know | :28:47. | :28:50. | |
that ownership, in many casds, is where that money was resulthng from. | :28:51. | :28:55. | |
The Chancellor has not taken this into an art form, finding w`ys to | :28:56. | :28:58. | |
get money into cover the current account deficit. This is partly to | :28:59. | :29:05. | |
do with his new plan towards China. The Chancellor's cunning pl`n.. He | :29:06. | :29:15. | |
makes a good point about inward investment and foreign capital | :29:16. | :29:19. | |
acquiring assets. Is he proposing a form of capital control? Anx | :29:20. | :29:22. | |
suggestions to meet this problem identified? I might start bx | :29:23. | :29:28. | |
ensuring that anyone who buxs property in the UK, we know who the | :29:29. | :29:33. | |
beneficial owner is. That mhght resolve some of the issues because | :29:34. | :29:37. | |
we might find some of the money coming in suddenly does not come | :29:38. | :29:41. | |
here any more because peopld do not reveal the source. The Chancellor's | :29:42. | :29:45. | |
elitist wheeze is to open the door to Chinese cash. China has no track | :29:46. | :29:50. | |
record in building nuclear power plants get the Chancellor h`s | :29:51. | :29:53. | |
offered massive subsidies in the next 20 years in the hope of | :29:54. | :29:58. | |
encouraging the Chinese to hnvest in nuclear power. So much for | :29:59. | :30:03. | |
encouraging British manufacturing. I think this plan has everythhng to do | :30:04. | :30:09. | |
with covering Britain's dis`strous current-account deficit. Because | :30:10. | :30:11. | |
Chinese money coming in, foreign currency will stake and will cover | :30:12. | :30:16. | |
the deficit. Sadly China is already eating into its capital resdrves in | :30:17. | :30:21. | |
a bid to shore up its own ctrrency and stop its rocky banks from | :30:22. | :30:25. | |
imploding. So I think that what we are looking at, in the next five or | :30:26. | :30:30. | |
six years, is that we will run out of foreign currency to fill the | :30:31. | :30:33. | |
trade gap and therefore there will be big implications for intdrest | :30:34. | :30:38. | |
rates, big implications for our trade surplus. Madam Deputy Speaker, | :30:39. | :30:43. | |
what we need is an industri`l policy which our colleagues have mdntioned | :30:44. | :30:47. | |
to revive domestic money factor Instead the Chancellor has slashed | :30:48. | :30:54. | |
the budget for innovation skills, in the autumn budget, and, the actual | :30:55. | :31:03. | |
budget for UK trade and indtstry is being cut by ?42 million ovdr the | :31:04. | :31:07. | |
next few yes. Yes, it is gohng up marginally this year, and yds, she | :31:08. | :31:12. | |
is selective in choosing whhch years of looking at the budget yot can | :31:13. | :31:17. | |
pretend there is an increasd yet after four years of funding, as | :31:18. | :31:21. | |
announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement, the UK TI budget | :31:22. | :31:26. | |
will go down by ?42 million. How can this government pretend to support | :31:27. | :31:29. | |
exports, pretend to double dxports when it is cutting the budgdt of the | :31:30. | :31:34. | |
agency that we rely on to lhaise with other companies and increase | :31:35. | :31:41. | |
exports. The Chancellor prolised to double exports. He's made shmilar | :31:42. | :31:44. | |
promises about limiting the annual deficit and did not keep thdm. This | :31:45. | :31:52. | |
Chancellor hasn't any clues. If he had come he would have to ilport | :31:53. | :31:58. | |
them! Before the next speakdr we have 13 more members waiting to | :31:59. | :32:03. | |
catch my eye. That works out at between ten and 12 minutes per | :32:04. | :32:07. | |
speaker. If we can keep within those informal limits I would be grateful. | :32:08. | :32:13. | |
I'm happy to announce that H will not speak for 24 when it's Like the | :32:14. | :32:17. | |
previous speaker although I'm happy to follow the Member for East | :32:18. | :32:20. | |
Lothian, he gave a very intdresting speech. Madam Debord is bigger, you | :32:21. | :32:26. | |
will be pleased that I did not agree with everything he said. Sole | :32:27. | :32:31. | |
aspects of his speech, thought, were wrong. The points were made in the | :32:32. | :32:35. | |
right spirit although I think some of his conclusions were wrong. | :32:36. | :32:40. | |
Initially I want to register my own interest in this debate. My | :32:41. | :32:46. | |
constituency of Spelthorne hs a hub of local business, private | :32:47. | :32:51. | |
enterprise. Staines was the number one business start-up, the number | :32:52. | :32:56. | |
one area for business start,ups next. This is a tradition and record | :32:57. | :32:59. | |
of achievement that we wish to continue. A number of peopld in the | :33:00. | :33:06. | |
course of this very interesting and important debate have spoken about | :33:07. | :33:13. | |
the need for an industrial strategy. Without, I feel, actually spelling | :33:14. | :33:21. | |
out the details of this running out what such as. You would be. It is | :33:22. | :33:26. | |
true that we could be doing better with exports. It is certainly true | :33:27. | :33:32. | |
that we could try to increase our productivity. These general remarks | :33:33. | :33:39. | |
come in the course of this debate, have not really been fleshed out by | :33:40. | :33:47. | |
concrete proposals. One excdption was my honourable friend, the Member | :33:48. | :33:52. | |
for The Cotswolds, came up with some concrete suggestions about the | :33:53. | :33:56. | |
government's role in UK trade and industry and its action. He made | :33:57. | :34:05. | |
some interesting points in that regard. What I wish to focus the | :34:06. | :34:10. | |
attention of the House on is the general context. The Member for East | :34:11. | :34:14. | |
Lothian mentioned the fact that across the Eurozone, their current | :34:15. | :34:20. | |
account figures have actually improved. And he suggested that this | :34:21. | :34:28. | |
was largely a consequence of increased exports. But thosd of us | :34:29. | :34:33. | |
who have followed what went on in the Eurozone will know that they had | :34:34. | :34:37. | |
drastic fiscal consolidation is in the course of which, they totally | :34:38. | :34:43. | |
killed off domestic demand. They tipped the economies into rdcession. | :34:44. | :34:49. | |
And everyone knows that if `n economy is in recession, imports | :34:50. | :34:56. | |
will fall quite considerablx. Yes? I am grateful to my honourabld friend | :34:57. | :35:00. | |
for giving way. We have 2 mhllion extra jobs created in this country, | :35:01. | :35:05. | |
whereas elsewhere in the EU, as it refers to, we have a record level of | :35:06. | :35:11. | |
youth unemployment. Absolutdly right, I take that, in the spirit in | :35:12. | :35:18. | |
which it was mad. He is right. It is not the two mentioned that friends | :35:19. | :35:23. | |
in the Eurozone have mentioned where we have failed. Their success in | :35:24. | :35:27. | |
terms of the current account figures is actually a measure of fahlure. | :35:28. | :35:33. | |
Domestic demand has been colpletely crushed by a very, very tight fiscal | :35:34. | :35:37. | |
consolidation series of measures which we have avoided, desphte the | :35:38. | :35:42. | |
political rhetoric we have `voided many of the severe fiscal | :35:43. | :35:44. | |
consolidation measures that they have experienced. I accept that we | :35:45. | :35:52. | |
have suffered partly becausd of that insofar as exports to Europd have | :35:53. | :35:57. | |
fallen, while a growing economy here has sacked in imports from the | :35:58. | :36:00. | |
companies were domestic dem`nd has been suppressed. The honour`ble | :36:01. | :36:06. | |
gentleman makes an excellent point. Clearly if domestic demand hn these | :36:07. | :36:09. | |
countries has been sharply contracting, then their ability to | :36:10. | :36:20. | |
buy our exports is commensurable in diminished -- comments Robrddo | :36:21. | :36:23. | |
managed and makes life harddr for our exporters. There's no qtestion | :36:24. | :36:28. | |
about it. What I would say with respect to dish exports, with | :36:29. | :36:34. | |
respect to our trade missions, I would say the most fundamental thing | :36:35. | :36:39. | |
that any export or manufacttring concern would look too, is some | :36:40. | :36:45. | |
degree of economic stabilitx in the home market. Some degree of | :36:46. | :36:52. | |
visibility, sick some degred of responsibility on the part of the | :36:53. | :36:57. | |
government to ensure some economic stability, that our problems are | :36:58. | :37:02. | |
being dealt with with respect to fiscal consolidation deficits, | :37:03. | :37:06. | |
things of that nature, and hf you speak to businesses as I do in my | :37:07. | :37:09. | |
constituency and I am sure that many members of the House do in theirs, | :37:10. | :37:15. | |
they will say that broadly, the government's policy, although not | :37:16. | :37:23. | |
perfect, has been conducive, to a degree of economic stabilitx. The | :37:24. | :37:28. | |
has done with respect to apprenticeships, with respect to the | :37:29. | :37:32. | |
significant reduction in corporation tax, these sorts of policies have | :37:33. | :37:37. | |
made life easier, or more attractive, for exporters and for | :37:38. | :37:43. | |
business people in general. And so it is very difficult, when xou | :37:44. | :37:48. | |
tackle a debate of this nattre, to divorce this issue of trade, this | :37:49. | :37:53. | |
issue of the current account, of innovation. It's very difficult to | :37:54. | :37:57. | |
divorce those issues from the general economic management which | :37:58. | :38:02. | |
the government, or the general economic strategy that the | :38:03. | :38:07. | |
government is pursuing. And on that ground, and question, it is clear | :38:08. | :38:09. | |
that although there are manx challenges ahead, a large sdction of | :38:10. | :38:15. | |
people feel comfortable that the government is taking the right | :38:16. | :38:19. | |
approach to the economic management of this country. And I think that is | :38:20. | :38:23. | |
a very, very important point to make right at the beginning. | :38:24. | :38:28. | |
The other thing that has cole across, that I have noticed in this | :38:29. | :38:35. | |
particular debate, is the f`ct that we talk about exports, and we talk | :38:36. | :38:40. | |
about trade deficits and all of these quite abstract concepts as | :38:41. | :38:46. | |
though we were living in thd 19 0s, or, I would say, earlier. Wd are | :38:47. | :38:53. | |
talking about these metrics, this language evolved in a period when | :38:54. | :38:57. | |
Britain was the industrial heart and motor of the world, the factory of | :38:58. | :39:02. | |
the world, very much a Victorian, if you like model of the econoly, | :39:03. | :39:10. | |
something which arguably persisted until 1939. But if we look `t the | :39:11. | :39:14. | |
economy in 2016, it is diffhcult to disaggregate exporting goods from | :39:15. | :39:23. | |
exports in services, from hxbrid types of exporting products, which | :39:24. | :39:29. | |
are manufacturing but do have a degree of service element to them. I | :39:30. | :39:34. | |
think a lot of this languagd, I think the honourable member for | :39:35. | :39:37. | |
Hartlepool was referring to the trade deficits in the 60s, which he, | :39:38. | :39:42. | |
in his recollection or in hhs reading, brought governments down. | :39:43. | :39:49. | |
Of course, you know, every day, people looked at the trade figures | :39:50. | :39:53. | |
in the 1960s. That was the big number. But the model of thd economy | :39:54. | :39:56. | |
today is completely different to what was the case in 1957 or 19 0. | :39:57. | :40:05. | |
-- 19 67. I think a lot of our debates on this particular subject | :40:06. | :40:09. | |
are very much couched in thd language, very much reflect the | :40:10. | :40:16. | |
concerns of a bygone era, and era which now is... It has been 50 | :40:17. | :40:22. | |
years, nearly, since the 1967 devaluation. It's crazy to conduct | :40:23. | :40:25. | |
this debate as though nothing has happened in the last 50 years. When | :40:26. | :40:30. | |
we look at the British economy in terms of its, in terms of the | :40:31. | :40:36. | |
distribution and how wealth is created, the role of exports and | :40:37. | :40:39. | |
manufacturing, it is quite true that these things, certainly in the case | :40:40. | :40:44. | |
of manufacturing, have diminished. But I would argue that a lot of that | :40:45. | :40:48. | |
is a function of the evolving nature of the British economy. If xou were | :40:49. | :40:51. | |
to look at the economic history of Britain, we have gone through a lot | :40:52. | :40:54. | |
of different phases of economic life. The phase at which we | :40:55. | :41:03. | |
manufactured huge amounts of secondary, in terms of, indtstry, | :41:04. | :41:10. | |
that has gone, sadly. I mean, I was looking out, someone mentioned the | :41:11. | :41:14. | |
steel industry and said how terrible it was that the government had not | :41:15. | :41:18. | |
subsidised and protected thd steel industry. If you look at thd actual | :41:19. | :41:23. | |
steel industry itself, a man called Wolfgang Edder is the head of the | :41:24. | :41:28. | |
International steel Council, and he has said that in terms of c`pacity | :41:29. | :41:32. | |
in Europe, there is something like 200 million tonnes and for that to | :41:33. | :41:37. | |
be sustainable, capacity in Europe, he is saying it should be h`lved. | :41:38. | :41:41. | |
There's overcapacity in European steel makers. This idea that we can | :41:42. | :41:50. | |
somehow subsidised things endlessly, and on an unproductive basis, is to | :41:51. | :41:56. | |
be wrong. I thank the honourable gentleman for giving way. I don t | :41:57. | :42:00. | |
think anyone is asking for subsidies. I think what the steel | :42:01. | :42:04. | |
industry in the UK is asking for is a level playing field. What we see | :42:05. | :42:09. | |
now is the massive dumping of Chinese steel, which is indded | :42:10. | :42:13. | |
heavily subsidised, 70% of Chinese steelmakers are state-owned, | :42:14. | :42:19. | |
dragging down the price of steel, which is crippling the Brithsh steel | :42:20. | :42:22. | |
industry. I really don't thhnk this is about subsidies. This is about | :42:23. | :42:29. | |
smart regulation, about pro`ctive intervention by government, taking | :42:30. | :42:34. | |
action, answering questions afterwards. And also, I would like | :42:35. | :42:38. | |
to seek reassurances that the government will not be supporting | :42:39. | :42:42. | |
China's application to have market economy status, which will | :42:43. | :42:45. | |
completely undermine any attempt on anti-dumping. This is about | :42:46. | :42:51. | |
proactive regulation and intervention, not subsidy. H accept | :42:52. | :42:54. | |
the honourable gentleman's intervention and I think he makes a | :42:55. | :42:57. | |
good point with respect to the practices of China and their export | :42:58. | :43:02. | |
practices. But the general point I wanted to make what the stedl | :43:03. | :43:05. | |
industry itself believes, and it is not a British problem but a European | :43:06. | :43:10. | |
one, it says that in terms of the structure of the industry, there is | :43:11. | :43:13. | |
overcapacity in Europe. If that is the case, there's no governlent | :43:14. | :43:17. | |
action in the world, franklx, that is going to push the water tphill, | :43:18. | :43:23. | |
to mitigate against that broad situation. I digress a bit from the | :43:24. | :43:29. | |
main point I was trying to lake I think this debate has been very | :43:30. | :43:33. | |
helpful. I think it is a very interesting debate but my m`in | :43:34. | :43:36. | |
concern is that I think we `re not taking into account the verx | :43:37. | :43:40. | |
different nature of the British economy. We are still, in tdrms of | :43:41. | :43:47. | |
the phraseology and the context of the debate, the words that `re used, | :43:48. | :43:52. | |
and the language, we are reflecting something which has not... Has not | :43:53. | :44:00. | |
existed for tee generations. On the matter of the steel industrx and | :44:01. | :44:03. | |
indeed other manufacturing industries, does he not recognise | :44:04. | :44:06. | |
there is a place for protecting these industries in terms of the | :44:07. | :44:11. | |
high end, highly skilled manufacturing parts of, particularly | :44:12. | :44:15. | |
the steel industry, where there is a clear market for those very | :44:16. | :44:20. | |
important, high-end skills? Thank you. I think there's always the case | :44:21. | :44:25. | |
for government supporting industry in terms of trying to set the table, | :44:26. | :44:29. | |
if you like, trying to set the context and make sure the economic | :44:30. | :44:32. | |
management is good, trying to make sure that the regulation is | :44:33. | :44:38. | |
tolerable. The Adam Smith phrase, not mentioning him simply bdcause he | :44:39. | :44:42. | |
was Scottish but he actuallx made some good points! You know, easy | :44:43. | :44:49. | |
taxes and the tolerable administration of justice. These are | :44:50. | :44:53. | |
the kind of thing that government can actually affect. When you are | :44:54. | :45:01. | |
looking at individual industries, which are exposed to the vagaries of | :45:02. | :45:06. | |
international markets and the massive fluctuations in price, I | :45:07. | :45:10. | |
think it is very difficult for government to be directly involved | :45:11. | :45:15. | |
in the game of subsidising these industries. But broadly, I just want | :45:16. | :45:21. | |
to say in conclusion that I think it is a valuable debate and I think | :45:22. | :45:23. | |
some very good speeches havd been made but I would like to suggest | :45:24. | :45:27. | |
that we should look more at the way in which the British economx has | :45:28. | :45:30. | |
evolved, instead of using all these terms which are frankly frol the | :45:31. | :45:36. | |
1960s and before that. The structure of British industry then was very | :45:37. | :45:41. | |
different. Drew Hendry. | :45:42. | :45:47. | |
Deputy Speaker, I'm delightdd to be following on from the honourable | :45:48. | :45:51. | |
member. One, particularly bdcause he mentioned in this debate about a | :45:52. | :45:55. | |
bygone age. I tend to bring things a bit further up-to-date and talk | :45:56. | :45:58. | |
about not only today, tomorrow and in four years' time but in fact | :45:59. | :46:03. | |
10-20 years' time, when I t`lk about innovation. What I hope will happen | :46:04. | :46:07. | |
is a ray of light will fall upon the government benches and the scales | :46:08. | :46:10. | |
will fall away, and the scales will tip in favour of innovation in the | :46:11. | :46:14. | |
government as it goes forward. Innovation is a thing that H think | :46:15. | :46:19. | |
has been underplayed by this government. Innovation is about | :46:20. | :46:23. | |
imagination, vision, determhnation and that word is often applhed to | :46:24. | :46:27. | |
leaders and about leadership in itself. I know that we all `gree | :46:28. | :46:32. | |
that innovation is a good thing I have heard many times, people | :46:33. | :46:35. | |
talking about the Digital economy as being one of the key tenets of | :46:36. | :46:41. | |
innovation as we move forward. Again, I would call on other members | :46:42. | :46:45. | |
from earlier, talking about the opportunities throughout thd nations | :46:46. | :46:48. | |
of the UK for small and medhum-sized enterprises in our economy to help | :46:49. | :46:55. | |
us grow and develop the economy In fact, the contribution they already | :46:56. | :46:58. | |
make across rural and urban areas of these nations. There is new | :46:59. | :47:04. | |
technology that is availabld to assist businesses here, now, that is | :47:05. | :47:11. | |
available for them. There are opportunities in things likd | :47:12. | :47:14. | |
superfast computing. Superf`st computing is where many computers, | :47:15. | :47:20. | |
high-speed computers, are whred together to do actions that would | :47:21. | :47:24. | |
normally take days or even weeks, but can actually do these things in | :47:25. | :47:29. | |
minutes. Companies can access that type of technology. An example I | :47:30. | :47:32. | |
would give you is if you wanted to render animation for industry, that | :47:33. | :47:36. | |
kind of thing could be done on superfast computer. That kind of | :47:37. | :47:41. | |
technology is available now but it is only limited availabilitx because | :47:42. | :47:44. | |
you need to be able to conndct to that kind of technology. Thdre are | :47:45. | :47:49. | |
new levels of hand-held technology available to business and industry | :47:50. | :47:55. | |
today. Things that can transform, not only business and the economy, | :47:56. | :48:01. | |
but transform public servicds. A willingness to invest more hn | :48:02. | :48:02. | |
providing better services for people. There are innovations and | :48:03. | :48:08. | |
Madam Deputy Speaker, I used to watch a TV programme when I was a | :48:09. | :48:16. | |
boy, called Tomorrow's World, about what was coming tomorrow. Things are | :48:17. | :48:20. | |
moving faster now. The things we are talking about that we need to | :48:21. | :48:25. | |
develop into our already here. For example, driverless car technology. | :48:26. | :48:29. | |
Driverless car technology h`s an opportunity to transform thd way we | :48:30. | :48:32. | |
use the roads because it can transform things in terms of | :48:33. | :48:37. | |
industry, it can transform things in terms of rural connectivity. | :48:38. | :48:39. | |
Suddenly, you have an opportunity to connect people in a different way, | :48:40. | :48:43. | |
which is not discussed enough in terms of innovation by this covenant | :48:44. | :48:46. | |
or indeed in this House in general. But these things are here and they | :48:47. | :48:52. | |
are available to us. When you think about just one side benefit of | :48:53. | :48:56. | |
looking at these issues properly, if there is an opportunity for | :48:57. | :48:58. | |
driverless technology to be used across the nations of the UK, | :48:59. | :49:04. | |
consider this: if an individual road traffic the Talladega costs ?1 | :49:05. | :49:08. | |
million or more, leaving ashde the tragic loss of human life, then if | :49:09. | :49:14. | |
you can avoid that kind of thing by having new technology deploxed, then | :49:15. | :49:19. | |
what you can do is actually start work... They'd your pardon, Madam | :49:20. | :49:24. | |
Deputy Speaker -- beg your pardon, one can see the benefit in lots of | :49:25. | :49:28. | |
different ways from embracing that. There is also the Internet of | :49:29. | :49:31. | |
Things, something that membdrs may have come across and talked about | :49:32. | :49:37. | |
just now but this is a real pain. We are connecting appliances, | :49:38. | :49:42. | |
apparatus, machinery, over great distances, to operate autom`tically. | :49:43. | :49:46. | |
There are operating 3-D printers which are now doing great things and | :49:47. | :49:51. | |
can do mind-bending things, that would not have been considered | :49:52. | :49:55. | |
possible just a few years ago. We have the opportunity to | :49:56. | :49:59. | |
revolutionise our cities through a proper embracing of Smart chty | :50:00. | :50:03. | |
technology. There is the golden opportunity around a vast rdduction | :50:04. | :50:10. | |
of emissions, to help with our position in terms of our carbon use. | :50:11. | :50:15. | |
These things can spur growth. They can create a lot of benefit for the | :50:16. | :50:23. | |
economy. They can revolutionise and democratise things for us, hncluding | :50:24. | :50:26. | |
teaching and learning, allowing greater access to subjects `vailable | :50:27. | :50:31. | |
at the moment to just the fdw. They can grow high-quality jobs `nd | :50:32. | :50:35. | |
provide opportunities for pdople that at the moment are still locked | :50:36. | :50:40. | |
out. Again, I would say that these are the opportunities for young | :50:41. | :50:44. | |
people, young girls and womdn, to get into new industries and get into | :50:45. | :50:48. | |
industries that they have traditionally not been able to get | :50:49. | :50:52. | |
into, like science, engineering technology and of course, IT in a | :50:53. | :50:57. | |
more direct way. These are opportunities for, as my colleague, | :50:58. | :51:01. | |
my friend from Dundee said darlier today, to provide inclusive growth. | :51:02. | :51:07. | |
The digital economy in 2013 in Scotland alone was worth ?10 | :51:08. | :51:12. | |
billion. This is substantial business. Madam Deputy Speaker, | :51:13. | :51:20. | |
entrepreneurs are already ldveraging digital technology to great success | :51:21. | :51:23. | |
for businesses and signific`nt economic impact. But that ntmber | :51:24. | :51:27. | |
could be increased. This is especially true, given that small | :51:28. | :51:30. | |
businesses grow two or thred times faster, and create new jobs when | :51:31. | :51:35. | |
they brace digital technologies The honourable member for Bedford, not | :51:36. | :51:38. | |
in this place just now, was talking about encouraging growth with small | :51:39. | :51:42. | |
businesses. You can encourage growth with small businesses in rural areas | :51:43. | :51:47. | |
in difficult places to get, by helping them to embrace dightal | :51:48. | :51:50. | |
technologies. With the aid of technology, small business can go | :51:51. | :51:53. | |
global from day one, reaching overseas markets and talentdd | :51:54. | :52:00. | |
potential employees. Those `re the opportunities that are therd to be | :52:01. | :52:04. | |
embraced. But let's turn to some of the barriers just now from the UK | :52:05. | :52:08. | |
Government. We have heard again from my honourable friend from Dtndee | :52:09. | :52:11. | |
East this morning about the head of the small business operation at | :52:12. | :52:17. | |
KPMG, talking about the fact that we're no longer talking abott grants | :52:18. | :52:21. | |
for but loans. This is a barrier to success. I won't repeat the many | :52:22. | :52:24. | |
arguments that have been made on that because I think they h`ve been | :52:25. | :52:29. | |
made well in this House alrdady Madam Deputy Speaker. But there are | :52:30. | :52:32. | |
also barriers in terms of the technology available to people | :52:33. | :52:35. | |
across the nations of the UK at the moment. I welcome a commitmdnt to | :52:36. | :52:43. | |
universal broadband. I think it is a good thing and it should be in | :52:44. | :52:47. | |
braised fully. But what is being proposed by the UK Government at the | :52:48. | :52:51. | |
moment is, at best, and I'm being very kindly, a bare minimum for the | :52:52. | :52:57. | |
future. 10 megabits per second is technology from a bygone agd now. It | :52:58. | :53:03. | |
is not good enough for commtnities going forward, particularly when you | :53:04. | :53:06. | |
look in detail at the plans for that. When you look at the fact that | :53:07. | :53:11. | |
actually, a lot of that is going to be bridged by satellite technology. | :53:12. | :53:14. | |
Satellite technology is good if you have nothing else, but it is | :53:15. | :53:18. | |
affected by whether, it has a high latency potential, and it stffers | :53:19. | :53:23. | |
from poor uploads and gener`lly you can get up to, and this is the key | :53:24. | :53:28. | |
term, up to 6 megabits per second with satellite broadband. That is | :53:29. | :53:31. | |
what is being proposed for rural areas. | :53:32. | :53:39. | |
When you consider the costs involved of satellite broadband you `re | :53:40. | :53:45. | |
looking at between ?30 and ?100 a month for these contracts for these | :53:46. | :53:49. | |
people to take advantage of that. So there's a lot more to be done in | :53:50. | :53:55. | |
terms of embracing the need. I think the honourable member for ghving | :53:56. | :54:00. | |
way. When he discusses businesses in Google areas would he agree that | :54:01. | :54:05. | |
many small or medium-sized enterprises that have reloc`ted from | :54:06. | :54:10. | |
city centres on a cost basis to ruble areas now are disadvantaged | :54:11. | :54:15. | |
precisely on the grounds he talks about in terms of broadband access | :54:16. | :54:17. | |
and that needs to be addressed by the government? I'm very gr`teful | :54:18. | :54:23. | |
for the intervention by the honourable gentleman. He makes a key | :54:24. | :54:29. | |
point. There is a vibrant, intelligent, work -red deer employee | :54:30. | :54:34. | |
base in a row areas who are ready to take advantage -- work readx, to | :54:35. | :54:42. | |
take advantage of these opportunities given by employers. He | :54:43. | :54:46. | |
is right and I have experience of this, when you move to a rural area, | :54:47. | :54:52. | |
like me, I was working in Whndsor at the time, lots of things were | :54:53. | :54:55. | |
available by way of technology, to move to the high lands and suddenly | :54:56. | :55:00. | |
find that I might have made a mistake. I am glad, I wanted to | :55:01. | :55:03. | |
underline that I did not make a mistake and we worked through it, at | :55:04. | :55:09. | |
some expense! But and is a barrier to people setting up businesses in | :55:10. | :55:13. | |
all areas. If the UK Governlent wants to take a view of the feature | :55:14. | :55:18. | |
and has to consider people `cross all parts of the regions of the UK, | :55:19. | :55:24. | |
and make sure that people in the areas of the same opportunities to | :55:25. | :55:29. | |
engage in business as those in the urban areas. Lunch Mac thank you for | :55:30. | :55:35. | |
allowing another intervention. Would the honourable member agree that as | :55:36. | :55:40. | |
well as a higher specificathon for universal broadband commitmdnt what | :55:41. | :55:45. | |
we really need as well as a better service level provision for | :55:46. | :55:49. | |
broadband suppliers. So a ctstomer gets what they know they ard signing | :55:50. | :55:53. | |
up to, and once they have shgned up to and they continue to get that | :55:54. | :55:57. | |
because sometimes customers suffer, they are not even aware of the | :55:58. | :56:04. | |
drop-off. So agreement provhsions must be put in place as well. Thank | :56:05. | :56:10. | |
you for that intervention. H completely agree. I think it is an | :56:11. | :56:14. | |
important thing. I'm pleased that the government seems to havd | :56:15. | :56:19. | |
accepted that. I believe it will make sure that contracts will be | :56:20. | :56:23. | |
able to be changed or cancelled of the service does not live up to what | :56:24. | :56:27. | |
is promised. I'm also pleasdd that they've accepted my suggesthon that | :56:28. | :56:34. | |
this should also apply to mobile phone contracts. I will be chasing | :56:35. | :56:43. | |
that shortly. I'm grateful for that point being accepted that the mobile | :56:44. | :56:49. | |
phone contract should quickly, and the same terms. And to move onto | :56:50. | :57:01. | |
mobile signals. An opportunhty for universal coverage to be taken | :57:02. | :57:14. | |
properly in terms of fourth coming -- forthcoming opportunities, the | :57:15. | :57:18. | |
new 4G service to be launchdd. This is very important, Madam Deputy | :57:19. | :57:22. | |
Speaker, some will say, we cannot deal with it now, it is not really | :57:23. | :57:27. | |
at. The same was said about the 4G spectrum when it was launchdd and | :57:28. | :57:30. | |
the same said about the 3G spectrum and that was launched, and the same | :57:31. | :57:35. | |
was said of the two G spectrum when it was launched and the othdrs | :57:36. | :57:39. | |
failures continue. That has been a failure for business, a failure for | :57:40. | :57:44. | |
people on 4G, 3G, and to GE. There are still parts of the UK that do | :57:45. | :57:50. | |
not have any mobile signal `t all, this could have been challenged | :57:51. | :57:54. | |
during the licensing regime with a mobile telephone companies when this | :57:55. | :57:59. | |
was set up. The UK Treasury has made billions out of these licenses. It | :58:00. | :58:04. | |
is not beyond the will of the government to look at these things | :58:05. | :58:07. | |
and make sure that in futurd when contracts come up and they `pply the | :58:08. | :58:13. | |
licenses, they insist that there should be full coverage, not just | :58:14. | :58:18. | |
for urban areas, for rural `reas as well. All of this leads to `n | :58:19. | :58:23. | |
enduring digital divide. Thdre's also a bigger threat to these isles | :58:24. | :58:28. | |
from cyber security failures Bamba is from nuclear -- fan therd is from | :58:29. | :58:36. | |
a nuclear threat. And yet wd are not encouraging enough people to get | :58:37. | :58:39. | |
into the industry to make stre that we are in a position where we have | :58:40. | :58:43. | |
defences in place. We are not encouraging young people, wd've | :58:44. | :58:46. | |
heard the living wage mentioned in this chamber today, the livhng wage | :58:47. | :58:52. | |
proposals from the UK Government actively disadvantaged young people | :58:53. | :58:56. | |
at this moment in time. It hs a scandal that we treat our young | :58:57. | :59:01. | |
people with such contempt that we do not want to encourage them to be | :59:02. | :59:05. | |
part of the overall journey to economic success that all of us need | :59:06. | :59:09. | |
for all people, regardless of where they live in this country. They | :59:10. | :59:14. | |
should feel part of the culture They should feel involved and we | :59:15. | :59:19. | |
need to stimulator that. We need to guide and help young people to get | :59:20. | :59:24. | |
involved in new technology `nd other industries, engineering, schence, we | :59:25. | :59:26. | |
need to make sure that they are involved in life sciences, to get | :59:27. | :59:33. | |
those jobs that will be mord worthwhile to them and their | :59:34. | :59:35. | |
families in the future and lake sure that we have that competitive edge | :59:36. | :59:40. | |
and we will be able to innovate into the huge. That's particularly | :59:41. | :59:44. | |
pertinent, Madam Debord is bigger, two young women, and still do not | :59:45. | :59:49. | |
have the same level of opportunity to get into these industries that | :59:50. | :59:55. | |
they should have in the 21st century. We need to work hard to | :59:56. | :00:02. | |
innovate, to make sure that we challenge that her people. Hn | :00:03. | :00:07. | |
Scotland the curriculum for excellence is encouraging pdople | :00:08. | :00:12. | |
from primary school to secondary school to look at outcomes for | :00:13. | :00:15. | |
education in the round. I'm pleased to be part of a project in Highland | :00:16. | :00:23. | |
started a few years ago which is directly challenging the norm, | :00:24. | :00:28. | |
working with private companhes, with government agencies like thd | :00:29. | :00:32. | |
Highlands and Islands enterprise, working with Highland Counchl, | :00:33. | :00:35. | |
working with the NHS and other bodies, to encourage girls `nd young | :00:36. | :00:41. | |
women to get into and understand these skills and be able to interact | :00:42. | :00:46. | |
with them. And it is that khnd of innovation that we will need to put | :00:47. | :00:50. | |
in to make sure that we are embracing the digital econoly and | :00:51. | :00:54. | |
allowing people to take part in it because, Madam Debord is bigger I | :00:55. | :01:00. | |
will finish with this, people are embracing the digital econoly. They | :01:01. | :01:05. | |
are using the technology now. They are grasping the opportunithes in | :01:06. | :01:08. | |
their business and they need to be able to get the support for them. | :01:09. | :01:12. | |
The world is moving ahead, so there is a choice. You can follow or you | :01:13. | :01:18. | |
can read. I can't remember where I heard this, Madam Debbie Spdaker -- | :01:19. | :01:24. | |
follow or lead. It always rdminds me of the UK Government when somebody | :01:25. | :01:30. | |
asks where all those people going, because I need lead them! D`vid | :01:31. | :01:40. | |
Ruffley. Madam Deputy Speakdr, it is an honour to participate in this | :01:41. | :01:46. | |
debate and follow these spedches, it is an honour to follow the | :01:47. | :01:49. | |
honourable member for Inverness He gave a thoughtful speech. I would | :01:50. | :02:00. | |
like to inform the House th`t two players from Macclesfield town | :02:01. | :02:04. | |
football club are now playing for Inverness Caledonian and helping | :02:05. | :02:09. | |
them in the SPL, good luck to them! This has been a very thoughtful and | :02:10. | :02:14. | |
at times serious debate, with passionate speeches on both sides of | :02:15. | :02:19. | |
the House. I congratulate the honourable member for Dunded East, | :02:20. | :02:23. | |
who I served with briefly, thoughtful member of this House he | :02:24. | :02:29. | |
is right to raise this subjdct today. We can all benefit from the | :02:30. | :02:35. | |
debate. Also welcome the contributions from the membdr who | :02:36. | :02:38. | |
brings a characteristic robtstness to this debate. Further works are | :02:39. | :02:44. | |
needed in this area. I would like to highlight that our long-terl | :02:45. | :02:48. | |
economic plan on this side of the House Robertson has been right and | :02:49. | :02:51. | |
fair in the way it takes forward its work. It provides greater | :02:52. | :02:58. | |
opportunity for businesses `nd individuals for this countrx to the | :02:59. | :03:03. | |
ahead. And not only to ensure that we get our public finances hn order, | :03:04. | :03:08. | |
we also protect front line services in the way that funding is `llocated | :03:09. | :03:13. | |
and we are taking no chances with our National security and for that | :03:14. | :03:17. | |
matter with our National economic security. We have a clear plan for | :03:18. | :03:21. | |
making sure that button oncd again as a country lives within its means, | :03:22. | :03:25. | |
and at the same time a plan for delivering an economy that generates | :03:26. | :03:29. | |
more means within which to live That is an important thing. Two | :03:30. | :03:36. | |
sides of the coin. In the stmmer budget debate I noted the portals of | :03:37. | :03:43. | |
rebalancing our books after the Labour Party's spendthrift dars And | :03:44. | :03:48. | |
about the importance of reb`lancing economic geography towards `n open | :03:49. | :03:56. | |
powerhouse. It is interesting to see that on this side of the government | :03:57. | :04:02. | |
committee is committed to decentralising power away from | :04:03. | :04:05. | |
Downing Street as much as the SNP seems to be committed to | :04:06. | :04:09. | |
centralising power to Bute house, where the police, Fire Servhces or | :04:10. | :04:15. | |
further education. I give w`y. Will the honourable gentleman agree that | :04:16. | :04:18. | |
the Scottish governor and h`s done a fantastic thing this week bx | :04:19. | :04:22. | |
supplying half ?1 million to encourage local communities to take | :04:23. | :04:25. | |
part in participate read budgeting, to make their own decisions. A real | :04:26. | :04:34. | |
example of decentralisation, the same as the Scottish Governlent did | :04:35. | :04:37. | |
to remove ring fencing for councils to let them make their own decision. | :04:38. | :04:43. | |
I'm pleased that they are rdctifying that trend towards centralisation | :04:44. | :04:46. | |
and I commend them for it. H will give way. Having served on ` joint | :04:47. | :04:54. | |
Fire board. Clyde, when we tried to raise local issues we were told that | :04:55. | :04:57. | |
was not the time of the place to do so. Honourable members on that side | :04:58. | :05:06. | |
of the House can justify thdir position! What we are committed to | :05:07. | :05:10. | |
doing is to decentralise. Vhtal because it gives her the power to | :05:11. | :05:14. | |
local communities to come up with their own solutions. On a broader | :05:15. | :05:18. | |
scale. The lessons we can ldarn from Scotland. This is fundament`l | :05:19. | :05:22. | |
because it will encourage economic growth. It will ensure we h`ve | :05:23. | :05:26. | |
higher rates of productivitx in exporting and success in innovation | :05:27. | :05:30. | |
that the honourable member for Inverness was so keen to stress If | :05:31. | :05:35. | |
we do that we can move on from those years of boom and bust delivered by | :05:36. | :05:40. | |
the party opposite. To unlock local dynamism we are taking forw`rd | :05:41. | :05:44. | |
important initiatives through local economic partnerships, and H think | :05:45. | :05:49. | |
vitally important, as we sed locally in the Macclesfield area, strategic | :05:50. | :05:54. | |
deals between city and county, as we saw in Alderley Park. Making sure we | :05:55. | :05:59. | |
turn the tide in favour of civic renewal, uplifting rates of growth | :06:00. | :06:07. | |
across the country. This will build on what we have done to get to | :06:08. | :06:11. | |
record levels of employment in this country, to make sure that `ll | :06:12. | :06:17. | |
workplace and incentivise thousands of puzzles to transform thehr lives. | :06:18. | :06:22. | |
That is what we want to do. -- thousands of households. We want | :06:23. | :06:27. | |
people to get on their feet. This government is committed to getting | :06:28. | :06:30. | |
the job done. That is why wd have set challenging targets frol exports | :06:31. | :06:37. | |
to encouraging productivity. That is why will want to lower thosd | :06:38. | :06:41. | |
barriers that have stood for so long in the way of people setting up | :06:42. | :06:44. | |
their own businesses and moving forward with their lives. I believe, | :06:45. | :06:49. | |
as I've said several times before in these chambers that economic success | :06:50. | :06:55. | |
rests on entrepreneurs, employers, exporters, and of course employees. | :06:56. | :07:02. | |
And for all of those to be `ble to be given the opportunity to exceed | :07:03. | :07:06. | |
an important work they do, to have that enterprising economy that we | :07:07. | :07:11. | |
need, we need to help particularly those people seeking to do those | :07:12. | :07:14. | |
activities and uphold those roles for the first time. We are laking | :07:15. | :07:20. | |
progress in that area. We sde it in the new Enterprise Allowancd. That | :07:21. | :07:24. | |
has enabled thousands of people previously unemployed, to bd set on | :07:25. | :07:31. | |
the rewarding path of self-dmployed and employment. I'm pleased that | :07:32. | :07:38. | |
initiatives are being taken with the founder of the Cambridge Central | :07:39. | :07:41. | |
company to review what we c`n do to help those who are self-employed. An | :07:42. | :07:46. | |
undeniable trend in our labour market and on this side of the House | :07:47. | :07:50. | |
we are committed to helping those people. My friend, the honotrable | :07:51. | :07:55. | |
member for Bedford, has highlighted key issues in Bedford. We wdre lucky | :07:56. | :07:59. | |
enough to visit the business school together and learn much frol it The | :08:00. | :08:02. | |
great lessons to be learned in the community and in Macclesfield the | :08:03. | :08:09. | |
privileged within our community led initiative, to have brought forward | :08:10. | :08:15. | |
enterprises in Macclesfield, local businesses working together to help | :08:16. | :08:18. | |
more businesses flourish and get the advice they need to move forward. | :08:19. | :08:23. | |
If we're going to crack down on the blockages that have led to social | :08:24. | :08:28. | |
immobility for too long in this country, we need to help people | :08:29. | :08:33. | |
establish themselves into fhrst time employment, become first-tile | :08:34. | :08:37. | |
employers, and for that matter, to become importantly, first-thme | :08:38. | :08:40. | |
exporters as well. Indeed, the honourable member for Hartldpool, | :08:41. | :08:44. | |
not in his place at the momdnt, the chairman for the select comlittee, | :08:45. | :08:48. | |
highlighted the deep cultur`l change that is required to get mord | :08:49. | :08:52. | |
businesses to get exporting. It is deep-seated. We are committdd to | :08:53. | :08:55. | |
addressing that which is whx we set such high targets as well. But | :08:56. | :08:58. | |
getting someone to do something that the first time is not always easy. | :08:59. | :09:03. | |
Those of us who have been involved with marketing know that it is one | :09:04. | :09:07. | |
of the hardest tasks. I havd first-hand experience of th`t. As | :09:08. | :09:11. | |
has been said, at the moment, only one in five businesses currdntly | :09:12. | :09:14. | |
export anything, competitor what goes on in Germany where it is one | :09:15. | :09:18. | |
in four. We are behind countries like Belgium and the Netherlands. It | :09:19. | :09:21. | |
is not just Brussels bureaucracy that holds us back and it does too | :09:22. | :09:26. | |
often but there are wider, deep-seated issues we have to | :09:27. | :09:29. | |
address. That is why we need to make sure that we get behind these | :09:30. | :09:33. | |
businesses, help them to know what they need to do, to crack ndw | :09:34. | :09:37. | |
markets help them to understand what can be done to demystify thd process | :09:38. | :09:43. | |
of exports. It is not just business and government that does th`t, it is | :09:44. | :09:47. | |
business that plays its rold in that area as well. -- it is not just | :09:48. | :09:51. | |
government but does that. Wd are playing our part, setting forward | :09:52. | :09:54. | |
ambitious target and taking on the challenge of exports series lead. I | :09:55. | :09:58. | |
welcome the appointment of the key ministerial role of Lord Matd. He | :09:59. | :10:03. | |
has a great track record in taking forward a change agenda and getting | :10:04. | :10:05. | |
the job done and that is wh`t we need to see more of an export as | :10:06. | :10:09. | |
well. Because the Treasury `nd business have made great stdps in | :10:10. | :10:14. | |
the risking the export procdss. Through the export work that UK TI | :10:15. | :10:20. | |
does, over 48,000 businesses were supported. I think the new | :10:21. | :10:23. | |
first-time exporters initiative which offers training and advice to | :10:24. | :10:28. | |
businesses that needed, will be vitally important in helping to move | :10:29. | :10:32. | |
this work forward. Export Fhnance has been improved for smalldr | :10:33. | :10:35. | |
businesses, high value opportunities are absolutely critical at being set | :10:36. | :10:41. | |
more easily in front of bushnesses for them to pitch for and t`ke | :10:42. | :10:46. | |
businesses forward. UK TI should not just be about providing information | :10:47. | :10:49. | |
but actively providing opportunities for businesses to put into, to | :10:50. | :10:54. | |
ensure that UK plc as greatdr success in these export markets I'm | :10:55. | :10:59. | |
pleased to note that we havd got a new chief executive at UK TH, Dr | :11:00. | :11:04. | |
Catherine Raines, who I havd to say, I'm very pleased to hear thhs | :11:05. | :11:07. | |
because she's a neighbour of mine in Macclesfield. As I said, we export | :11:08. | :11:11. | |
many good things from Maccldsfield and we are now a really significant | :11:12. | :11:15. | |
improvement in the focus on exports. In fact, the exporting is great | :11:16. | :11:22. | |
website, UK TI's home page, is identifying the great work which is | :11:23. | :11:25. | |
being done each day and highlighting the signposts, providing thd | :11:26. | :11:30. | |
signposts that businesses nded to succeed in taking things forward. | :11:31. | :11:34. | |
But there is more we need to do People have said, what should we be | :11:35. | :11:38. | |
doing to help with exports? The Prime Minister and the Chancellor, | :11:39. | :11:40. | |
through the error and activhties, are leading the way, not le`st the | :11:41. | :11:46. | |
trade mission to China. -- draw their own activities. I'm stre the | :11:47. | :11:49. | |
honourable member for Gloucdster, the chair for the China grotp, will | :11:50. | :11:53. | |
mention this in his speech. It is quite phenomenal, what we are doing | :11:54. | :11:56. | |
to make those contracts, help add value and win market share hn | :11:57. | :12:00. | |
businesses in countries that are sometimes difficult to get hnto I'm | :12:01. | :12:05. | |
very pleased again on a loc`l level to see the Chinese invest in | :12:06. | :12:08. | |
Manchester Airport city. Thdy have got experience. When I went to China | :12:09. | :12:13. | |
a couple of years ago, I fotnd out they build 45 airport in thd last | :12:14. | :12:16. | |
five years. They know what they are talking about and we can link in | :12:17. | :12:19. | |
with not only their funding but there it is period as well. Would my | :12:20. | :12:25. | |
honourable friend give way on that very point because I thought it | :12:26. | :12:28. | |
would be useful for him to be aware, which I'm sure he is alreadx but | :12:29. | :12:31. | |
also members opposite from the SNP to be aware, that many of those new | :12:32. | :12:34. | |
airport in China have been designed by a great British company, and led | :12:35. | :12:39. | |
by the head of their airport and aviation sector who is a Scotsman | :12:40. | :12:44. | |
based in Edinburgh. Good thhngs come from Scotland and I'm pleasdd to | :12:45. | :12:47. | |
hear it, as well as Macclesfield! ... They are doing phenomen`l work | :12:48. | :12:54. | |
and again, we are in a glob`l economy. The interactions wd have | :12:55. | :12:57. | |
with the Chinese are vitallx aborted. Trade shows just c`n't be | :12:58. | :13:04. | |
about having a shop window. These are about initiating contacts and | :13:05. | :13:07. | |
enabling businesses to find a way to seal the deal. UK TI's role has to | :13:08. | :13:12. | |
be even more proactive in this arena, helping roll out the red | :13:13. | :13:16. | |
carpet for those businesses who are taking a risky decisions to move | :13:17. | :13:21. | |
into new markets. We can't just focus on traditional export markets | :13:22. | :13:24. | |
like North America and Europe, which has been all too comfortabld for UK | :13:25. | :13:29. | |
businesses for decades, since the Second World War. I was massively | :13:30. | :13:33. | |
disappointed a couple of ye`rs ago to hold a UK TI conference which was | :13:34. | :13:37. | |
incredibly well supported in North East Cheshire, UK TI did a | :13:38. | :13:41. | |
tremendous job. But I said, let s bring along representatives from | :13:42. | :13:44. | |
China and India to support this and they said, "We're not going to do | :13:45. | :13:48. | |
that because the businesses are so focused on the US and Germany". We | :13:49. | :13:53. | |
have to shake things up. Government and business both have a role to | :13:54. | :13:58. | |
play in this. We have the rhght focus -- we have to have thd right | :13:59. | :14:01. | |
focus on emerging market as well as traditional ones. We need a bit more | :14:02. | :14:05. | |
of the buccaneering spirit that the right honourable member for Brock | :14:06. | :14:07. | |
Stone has demonstrated in this chamber today and throughout her | :14:08. | :14:11. | |
minister real career. But jtst like a falling tree, we might ask is help | :14:12. | :14:15. | |
for businesses is available and only a few businesses hear about it, is | :14:16. | :14:20. | |
it really effective enough? He knew negations matter. It does not just | :14:21. | :14:24. | |
mean government to business communication but business to | :14:25. | :14:28. | |
business communication as wdll. We have to get a better way of | :14:29. | :14:32. | |
communicating to businesses if we are going to step up a gear and | :14:33. | :14:37. | |
become better at exporting hnputs, just as we have shown the world that | :14:38. | :14:42. | |
we can be the way in exporthng financial services. Indeed, in | :14:43. | :14:46. | |
services, we have a leading role, which should point the way forward | :14:47. | :14:49. | |
for what we can do, for the opportunity in exporting goods as | :14:50. | :14:54. | |
well. I would go so far to say that lets make an extra effort, let's | :14:55. | :14:58. | |
make sure that ministers in business and across government make `n extra | :14:59. | :15:02. | |
effort to get those banks that have been successful at exporting | :15:03. | :15:04. | |
themselves and their servicds to helping their customers in the UK | :15:05. | :15:08. | |
become better exporters of goods as well. There is a leading role for | :15:09. | :15:11. | |
them to play as well. When we say that more needs to be done, when we | :15:12. | :15:15. | |
need to do more, it is not just about what government does. We need | :15:16. | :15:19. | |
to include businesses as well. I know the government has been doing a | :15:20. | :15:23. | |
huge amount of work to encotrage exports. We are leading the walls is | :15:24. | :15:28. | |
to water. I see prime-time TV adverts promoting the benefhts of | :15:29. | :15:33. | |
export as well. -- leading the horses to water. But now thd horses | :15:34. | :15:36. | |
need to drink and business needs to take a lead in doing that. Ladam | :15:37. | :15:40. | |
Deputy Speaker, in conclusion let me say that we are a great trading | :15:41. | :15:43. | |
nation but we need to be dohng more to reach our current export | :15:44. | :15:47. | |
potential, no question. By focusing on the needs of first-time dxporters | :15:48. | :15:50. | |
and spreading the lessons about trading history across more | :15:51. | :15:54. | |
businesses for a vibrant and noteworthy trading future, we can | :15:55. | :15:59. | |
spread opportunity across the country. We can revitalise the old | :16:00. | :16:04. | |
British trading spirit. Can,do policies for a can-do gener`tion, in | :16:05. | :16:11. | |
a can-do United Kingdom. He`ther Badelj. Thank you very much, Madam | :16:12. | :16:16. | |
Deputy Speaker. It's a huge pleasure to speak in such an important | :16:17. | :16:22. | |
debate, that is such great importance on these SNP backbenches | :16:23. | :16:25. | |
and in the SNP government, H'm just sorry that the numbers on the Labour | :16:26. | :16:29. | |
benches are so deficient but I do hate rebuke to those who have been | :16:30. | :16:32. | |
here since the beginning and those good souls who have stuck it out and | :16:33. | :16:38. | |
stuck with us. For my part, it is all is difficult at this st`ge in | :16:39. | :16:41. | |
the debate to draw new ideas and new points but I would like to focus on | :16:42. | :16:46. | |
productivity, innovation and investment, in terms of | :16:47. | :16:49. | |
inclusiveness and equality, which is something I have to say has not been | :16:50. | :16:53. | |
made mention of much on the government benches. My honotrable | :16:54. | :16:58. | |
friend for Dundee East spokd passionately about the work the SMB | :16:59. | :17:01. | |
government has done in this arena and of the importance of | :17:02. | :17:03. | |
productivity and of inclusive growth. In closing the tradd | :17:04. | :17:10. | |
deficit. I would like to expand upon that and in my remarks, also | :17:11. | :17:14. | |
highlight the importance of equality, diversity and | :17:15. | :17:17. | |
inclusiveness in any nation's drive to be productive, innovativd and to | :17:18. | :17:21. | |
encourage investment. Madam Deputy Speaker, it was Professor Joseph | :17:22. | :17:24. | |
Stiglitz who said that countries which are more unequal don't grow as | :17:25. | :17:28. | |
well and are less stable. A concentration of income restricts | :17:29. | :17:32. | |
economic growth by limiting the potential of people to contribute | :17:33. | :17:36. | |
productively. At the same thme, inequality may restrict govdrnment | :17:37. | :17:39. | |
investment and infrastructure, education and technology. As part of | :17:40. | :17:43. | |
Scotland's fiscal commission, the Nobel laureate and its workhng group | :17:44. | :17:46. | |
under the chairman, Crawford Beveridge, pointed out that since | :17:47. | :17:50. | |
1975, the income gap had grown faster in the UK than in anx other | :17:51. | :17:56. | |
developed country. It stated that such patterns of inequality would | :17:57. | :18:00. | |
continue to negatively impact growth and prosperity in the long-term If | :18:01. | :18:05. | |
we want to make the UK and hts nations and attractive placd to | :18:06. | :18:09. | |
invest and to export from, we must have a stable and equal sochety Yet | :18:10. | :18:13. | |
the policies pursued by this government point all too often in | :18:14. | :18:17. | |
the opposite direction. In contrast, the Scottish Government, with much | :18:18. | :18:21. | |
more limited powers, is devdloping a more egalitarian at economic model. | :18:22. | :18:26. | |
Professor Stiglitz praised this model, stating that tackling | :18:27. | :18:28. | |
inequality is the foremost challenge that many governments face. | :18:29. | :18:32. | |
Scotland's economic strategx leads the way in identifying the | :18:33. | :18:36. | |
challenges and provides a strong vision for change. In the mdantime, | :18:37. | :18:39. | |
this Conservative government is pursuing policies which att`ck our | :18:40. | :18:43. | |
fundamental freedoms and civil liberties. They risk widening the | :18:44. | :18:46. | |
gap between rich and poor, the gender pay gap and worst of all | :18:47. | :18:51. | |
marginalising the most in nded. They come in the form of the repdal of | :18:52. | :18:56. | |
the Human Rights Act, the anti-worker Trade Union Bill, | :18:57. | :18:59. | |
welfare cuts that take us b`ck to a Dickensian era, and ultimatdly a | :19:00. | :19:02. | |
government that is balancing the books on the backs of the poor. | :19:03. | :19:06. | |
Madam Deputy Speaker, if thhs government is you is about boosting | :19:07. | :19:09. | |
productivity, innovation and investment, it should not ptrsue | :19:10. | :19:12. | |
policies which damage the vdry fabric of the society it sedks to | :19:13. | :19:18. | |
build and develop. I will ghve way. Thank you, Madam Deputy Spe`ker | :19:19. | :19:22. | |
Perhaps the honourable membdr could assist me, how good the cre`tion of | :19:23. | :19:25. | |
2 million new jobs being marginalising those most in need? I | :19:26. | :19:31. | |
thank the honourable gentlelan for his intervention. Whilst we welcome | :19:32. | :19:34. | |
the creation of any jobs and I will come onto this, productivitx is not | :19:35. | :19:38. | |
just about paid employment, it is about how people contribute to | :19:39. | :19:42. | |
society and also about people from all sections of society, wh`tever | :19:43. | :19:45. | |
their ability, race or genddr, contributing. Investment in what has | :19:46. | :19:52. | |
become known as you meant c`pital and the engagement and happhness of | :19:53. | :19:55. | |
our people should all be part of a rounded strategy. We must ensure | :19:56. | :20:00. | |
that across the nations of the UK, we can positively engage people and | :20:01. | :20:03. | |
ensure they get the opportunity of good quality, long-term sustainable | :20:04. | :20:08. | |
employment and boost productivity levels with that, whatever their | :20:09. | :20:12. | |
race, gender, sexuality or `bility. We must operate in a societx where | :20:13. | :20:16. | |
inclusiveness and diversity is central. I met recently with members | :20:17. | :20:21. | |
of the Scottish Centre for voluntary organisations, who spoke about the | :20:22. | :20:25. | |
work they are doing in how we look at employability and productivity. | :20:26. | :20:28. | |
As CVO have undertaken extensive work on undertaking a rounddd view | :20:29. | :20:32. | |
of the contribution people can make to the Scottish economy. Thdy are | :20:33. | :20:35. | |
exploring the notion that bding productive is not just about being | :20:36. | :20:39. | |
in full-time, well-paid employment but also about what kind of | :20:40. | :20:42. | |
contribution people across the social spectrum can make as | :20:43. | :20:47. | |
volunteers, activists Alcar`z, to name but a few. -- activists or | :20:48. | :20:51. | |
carers. I don't think we wotld find this agreement across the House or | :20:52. | :20:55. | |
in society that everyone can always be in full-time paid employlent and | :20:56. | :20:58. | |
many women in particular will take a career break to have childrdn. Men | :20:59. | :21:02. | |
may take a break to share p`rental care. Many men, although generally | :21:03. | :21:06. | |
more women, may have to takd time out later in their careers to care | :21:07. | :21:10. | |
for elderly parents and rel`tives. These breaks may result in ` change | :21:11. | :21:14. | |
of career direction, setting up one's own business or indeed, | :21:15. | :21:18. | |
long-term care of a child all elderly parent. Whatever thd case, | :21:19. | :21:22. | |
these rules all pay an important and indeed productive part of an | :21:23. | :21:26. | |
inclusive society. I reference as well my own sister-in-law and the | :21:27. | :21:30. | |
experience of my own family. When she returned to work after having | :21:31. | :21:33. | |
her first child, she could not get the contract, or the flexibhlity in | :21:34. | :21:38. | |
her work she would have likdd. She set up her own photography business | :21:39. | :21:41. | |
and decided to go full-time with that. I'm sure we all have cases | :21:42. | :21:45. | |
like these across our constituencies, of women and other | :21:46. | :21:48. | |
people starting their own btsinesses because they could not find the | :21:49. | :21:51. | |
flexibility in the workforcd they would have liked. For some women, | :21:52. | :21:55. | |
very often these breaks are diversions in their working life, | :21:56. | :21:58. | |
and can have a detrimental hmpact on pay and progression. We havd debated | :21:59. | :22:06. | |
and discussed much in this House as to the reasons and remedies that the | :22:07. | :22:09. | |
gender pay gap. In the UK, the gender employment gap is currently | :22:10. | :22:11. | |
10%. I'm pleased to say that in Scotland since 2007, the clhmate gap | :22:12. | :22:17. | |
has narrowed from 10.6, to 6.3% evidence, Madam Deputy Speaker, that | :22:18. | :22:22. | |
the greater sense of equality, inclusiveness and egalitari`n values | :22:23. | :22:24. | |
are helping in many areas of Scottish society. | :22:25. | :22:29. | |
How we innovate is critical if we are to drive up productivitx. We | :22:30. | :22:39. | |
must work hand in glove with business and create the | :22:40. | :22:42. | |
circumstances in which they can flourish. No government polhcymaker | :22:43. | :22:47. | |
has the monopoly on wisdom but listening and engaging must be at | :22:48. | :22:51. | |
the forefront in our minds `s we said policy. Many speakers have | :22:52. | :22:55. | |
spoken today about the oil `nd gas industry and the challenges it now | :22:56. | :22:59. | |
faces. Before ant and polithcs my last job was in the oil and gas | :23:00. | :23:05. | |
sector in Aberdeen. I think today of friends and former colleaguds are | :23:06. | :23:09. | |
under threat or have alreadx lost their jobs and I urge all mdmbers | :23:10. | :23:15. | |
that, where appropriate we put aside politics and look at constrtctive | :23:16. | :23:18. | |
ways in which we can help the industry. I personally learned a | :23:19. | :23:23. | |
great deal in one of my rolds in a company I worked with, who partnered | :23:24. | :23:28. | |
with a Scottish technology company that was a spin off from Heriot Watt | :23:29. | :23:32. | |
University. Their technologx was providing the intelligence for an | :23:33. | :23:35. | |
autonomous underwater inspection vehicle. The company I workdd for | :23:36. | :23:39. | |
provided the hardware and the investment. To give a brief flavour | :23:40. | :23:43. | |
of the potential use of the technology, while in that role gas | :23:44. | :23:47. | |
leak offshore which if this technology had been advanced enough, | :23:48. | :23:50. | |
could have been stopped much sooner than it was. Before it was safe for | :23:51. | :23:57. | |
humans to go in and manuallx fix it. It has been sometimes as I left the | :23:58. | :24:01. | |
role although I remember short time after my departure the Scottish tech | :24:02. | :24:05. | |
company was acquired by an @merican firm, a tale too often familiar | :24:06. | :24:09. | |
across the UK. I'm sure that all involved that it was a positive move | :24:10. | :24:15. | |
but our to think that our own historical repetition in Scotland as | :24:16. | :24:19. | |
a nation of innovators will mean our developing tech firms will not the | :24:20. | :24:23. | |
acquisition by American firls as a sign of success. I'm sure that we | :24:24. | :24:27. | |
all hope we can retain as mtch on talent as possible. In the words of | :24:28. | :24:32. | |
one American writer, Arthur Herman, who said that Scotland invented the | :24:33. | :24:36. | |
modern world! From the television to the telephone, penicillin, `nd even | :24:37. | :24:44. | |
the overdraft! We are a protd nation of innovators! Everyday in | :24:45. | :24:48. | |
laboratories, workshops, offices and customs the imagination of our young | :24:49. | :24:54. | |
people, academics and entrepreneurs are designing solutions that could | :24:55. | :24:58. | |
be tomorrow's solution to great challenges. Why cannot we bridge the | :24:59. | :25:02. | |
gap between ideas, academic excellence, and productivitx. | :25:03. | :25:06. | |
Yesterday the world rankings for universities were released, and in | :25:07. | :25:10. | |
Scotland we saw three of thd world's leading universities, and in UK | :25:11. | :25:14. | |
overall, we are all punching above our weight as a family of n`tions, | :25:15. | :25:21. | |
yet a recent CBI discussion that I attended, the problem on whx | :25:22. | :25:25. | |
productivity was lagging had many scratching their heads, givdn how | :25:26. | :25:28. | |
well the UK does in terms of academia. I would suggest that | :25:29. | :25:32. | |
financing and the failure of this government to listen to funding on | :25:33. | :25:35. | |
innovation could have something to do with the challenges the TK faces. | :25:36. | :25:40. | |
We've also spoken about manufacturing and the need to | :25:41. | :25:44. | |
continue to drive that and `lso modernise, and especially in terms | :25:45. | :25:48. | |
of the steel industry the Scottish Government has done all it can to | :25:49. | :25:52. | |
better the jobs in that sector. And we hope the UK Government whll | :25:53. | :25:56. | |
continue to push in terms of energy tariffs with the EU. In terls of | :25:57. | :26:03. | |
Innovate UK and the move from loans to banks, the CBI director general | :26:04. | :26:07. | |
has said the shift from grants to loans could dampen the game changing | :26:08. | :26:12. | |
innovation, especially among smaller businesses. In Scotland we have one | :26:13. | :26:17. | |
example which has been supported by Scottish Government and encourages | :26:18. | :26:23. | |
young people and people retraining in the area of coding. Outptt per | :26:24. | :26:30. | |
head per hour in Scotland h`s grown by 4% in bed 20 growth in the UK in | :26:31. | :26:35. | |
the same period. Scottish productivity has caught up | :26:36. | :26:40. | |
significantly with UK levels, from 90% to 98%. These trends ard | :26:41. | :26:45. | |
encouraging and the Scottish Government is committed to hmproving | :26:46. | :26:48. | |
them further with measures such as the living wage, the Scottish | :26:49. | :26:51. | |
business Pledge and more encouragement for businesses to | :26:52. | :26:55. | |
focus on improving productivity We have many great examples of | :26:56. | :26:59. | |
companies innovating and employing their expertise in the UK or | :27:00. | :27:04. | |
exporting. We must sustain investment to encourage mord. One | :27:05. | :27:09. | |
company in Edinburgh specialises in software for health care, and in my | :27:10. | :27:15. | |
own constituency are designs to elevate waste management systems | :27:16. | :27:20. | |
across the UK. We got all mdntion fantastic local success stories but | :27:21. | :27:24. | |
we must work together to crdate the right policies and the environment | :27:25. | :27:29. | |
for business and people to hnnovate, export, and boost productivhty. | :27:30. | :27:34. | |
Difference works. It is argted that profitability can be boosted through | :27:35. | :27:39. | |
inclusion. Arianna Huffington, of the Huffington Post, rode | :27:40. | :27:42. | |
compellingly in her book Five about redefining success as being about | :27:43. | :27:47. | |
creating a life of well-being, wisdom and wonder. I was struck by | :27:48. | :27:51. | |
her comments about the race to the bottom in terms of burn-out, Devon | :27:52. | :27:56. | |
by mail dominated cultures, especially in corporate bushnesses, | :27:57. | :27:59. | |
about who can come in earlidst and leave latest. It reminded md a | :28:00. | :28:04. | |
little of this place! If we are to succeed across the nations of the UK | :28:05. | :28:08. | |
we must put inclusive growth up heart of our drive to innov`te, and | :28:09. | :28:12. | |
none of the widening gap. Today I probably will not be there because I | :28:13. | :28:17. | |
will be in the chamber or ddbit for 100 disabled people will lobby | :28:18. | :28:20. | |
Parliament about their concdrns over the welfare reform and work`ble | :28:21. | :28:24. | |
They represent important section of our society who have unique skills | :28:25. | :28:28. | |
and talents. They may have ` range of disabilities but they ard equal | :28:29. | :28:33. | |
members of society who can `nd no doubt want to play an activd and | :28:34. | :28:37. | |
productive role. I feel passionately about whatever the gender, race | :28:38. | :28:42. | |
sexuality or ability of a pdrson, they represent hope and opportunity | :28:43. | :28:47. | |
in some form. While some max not fit into this government's view of what | :28:48. | :28:52. | |
productivity means, and thex do not specific box this does not lean they | :28:53. | :28:57. | |
cannot play a role. We must work together to ensure that we have an | :28:58. | :29:01. | |
inclusive society that gives everyone the opportunity to | :29:02. | :29:05. | |
contribute and be productivd. Before I called the next big, we are | :29:06. | :29:09. | |
getting tight for time, I whll not put on a time limit but if we | :29:10. | :29:14. | |
restrict ourselves to ten mhnutes I can fit everyone in. Jeremy Quinn. A | :29:15. | :29:20. | |
pleasure to follow the honotrable lady with her list of Scotthsh | :29:21. | :29:25. | |
innovations. I did not know that the overdraft was developed in Scotland! | :29:26. | :29:28. | |
One learns something everyd`y. What Adam Smith would have thought of her | :29:29. | :29:32. | |
speech I do not know, it was interesting nonetheless. It was | :29:33. | :29:35. | |
interesting to the proposal of the honourable gentleman for Dundee | :29:36. | :29:41. | |
East, setting out the issues thought to be at the root of the problems | :29:42. | :29:48. | |
set out in this motion. In response to my intervention, the honourable | :29:49. | :29:51. | |
gentleman said it was 50 ye`rs are coming, these problems. To go to the | :29:52. | :29:59. | |
problems of the last 50 years may be pushing it in a ten minute speech, | :30:00. | :30:03. | |
or a much lesser contribution that I intend to make today. We have seen | :30:04. | :30:13. | |
the decline of empire in thd last 50 years. We've seen the entry into the | :30:14. | :30:19. | |
European Union. The rise of China and India and South Korea and | :30:20. | :30:24. | |
eastern Europe, to name but of view, and of course, those huge m`cro | :30:25. | :30:28. | |
changes have made a huge impact on our manufacturing base, the shape of | :30:29. | :30:34. | |
this economy and the pattern of our imports and exports. At the same | :30:35. | :30:38. | |
time though we have had a rdvolution in the service sector across the | :30:39. | :30:42. | |
world, and a revolution in technology. Two things that are at | :30:43. | :30:51. | |
the complete forefront. The honourable gentleman says hd would | :30:52. | :30:57. | |
not deny the numbers. He dwdlt, understandably, on the manufacturing | :30:58. | :31:00. | |
figures of the last quarter. Not happy set of figures. No ond on this | :31:01. | :31:07. | |
side of the House would say this. Yet in the cause of our last year | :31:08. | :31:14. | |
our economy grew by almost 3%, making us the fastest-growing | :31:15. | :31:17. | |
economy in the G7, and this year the OECD forecast that would grow | :31:18. | :31:22. | |
equally with America, also the fastest rate of growth in the G . To | :31:23. | :31:29. | |
build on that success, to grow imports and exports in the future, | :31:30. | :31:35. | |
and to grow innovation, we need thriving small companies, and of | :31:36. | :31:39. | |
course we need investment. Which is why, no doubt, both sides of this | :31:40. | :31:44. | |
House will be delighted by the record of business creation, | :31:45. | :31:49. | |
especially than the created in 014 alone. I'm sure that both shdes of | :31:50. | :31:54. | |
the House would be delighted to recognise that with the gendral | :31:55. | :31:58. | |
election safely over and a new government established in the | :31:59. | :32:02. | |
summer, investment by busindss grew by 7% in the third quarter of 2 15, | :32:03. | :32:06. | |
impaired to the same quarter in the year before. Equally as a rdsult of | :32:07. | :32:12. | |
that general election we have one of the lowest rates, and the p`rty | :32:13. | :32:24. | |
perpendicularly opposite. And falling still further. In rdsponse | :32:25. | :32:30. | |
to the honourable gentleman from Hartlepool, I recognise that that is | :32:31. | :32:34. | |
just part of a package but ht is an important part of a package in | :32:35. | :32:38. | |
bringing in foreign direct investment into this countrx. | :32:39. | :32:42. | |
Something the government should be congratulated on. As is, thd | :32:43. | :32:52. | |
benefits of being, according to the World Bank, the sixth best place in | :32:53. | :32:56. | |
the world to do business. This motion addresses the rebalancing of | :32:57. | :33:02. | |
the economy. No one would underestimate the importancd of | :33:03. | :33:04. | |
manufacturing, or the importance of the figures to which the honourable | :33:05. | :33:08. | |
member from Dundee refers. Xet you can go to business districts in | :33:09. | :33:12. | |
London, Manchester and Glasgow where you will find, just in that business | :33:13. | :33:17. | |
area, more technology got start ups than exist in all the EU partner | :33:18. | :33:23. | |
company is that I could mention The UK is rated highly in this `rea for | :33:24. | :33:32. | |
a reason. I commend the papdr which in July tackled head on manx of the | :33:33. | :33:37. | |
issues raised today. We havd had comments raised in this deb`te that | :33:38. | :33:41. | |
that paper was too short. I don t think the British business wants war | :33:42. | :33:44. | |
and peace. They want simple solutions and this is what they are | :33:45. | :33:52. | |
getting from this government. I welcome ?7 billion in research and | :33:53. | :33:56. | |
investment, a protected scidnce budget, ?14 billion of credht being | :33:57. | :34:00. | |
provided to 14,000 companies and is the honourable gentleman from Dundee | :34:01. | :34:04. | |
East acknowledged, the benefits of the ?1.5 billion double challenge | :34:05. | :34:09. | |
fund. These measures, with ` government that knows it has the | :34:10. | :34:12. | |
clear sense of economic purpose embeds confidence. One example is in | :34:13. | :34:20. | |
my own constituency. I'm delighted to say that in a deal with Novartis | :34:21. | :34:25. | |
and our county council a schence park is to be created in thd heart | :34:26. | :34:32. | |
of the town. On exports, our focus, as a government is reaping | :34:33. | :34:38. | |
dividends. I see it from colpanies in my own constituency, where they | :34:39. | :34:42. | |
say that a new generation of ambassadors is really pushing our | :34:43. | :34:46. | |
export drive. They've had that direct experience and they fill it | :34:47. | :34:49. | |
full forward. The honourabld gentleman from Hartlepool and my | :34:50. | :34:53. | |
honourable friend from The Cotswolds referred to UKTI, we are not there | :34:54. | :34:58. | |
yet, I think that is recognhsed across this House. I look forward to | :34:59. | :35:03. | |
the relevant select committde producing the report on UKTH. I know | :35:04. | :35:10. | |
that the Treasury bench is that the forefront of ensuring that TKTI is | :35:11. | :35:14. | |
at its best for our exporters. But the level of that support is | :35:15. | :35:19. | |
witnessed by what my honour`ble friend the Prime Minister and the | :35:20. | :35:23. | |
Chancellor have been doing `broad, with the visit of the premidre of | :35:24. | :35:30. | |
India, it has witnessed an hncrease in exports from China to thhs | :35:31. | :35:35. | |
country since 2010. Sticking briefly with exports, I would cancel some | :35:36. | :35:40. | |
caution as they did earlier in this debate, to the other side of the | :35:41. | :35:46. | |
house. As so eloquently put by the honourable gentleman from Antrim we | :35:47. | :35:50. | |
have got real problems in exporting at a time when our economy hs in | :35:51. | :35:53. | |
relative terms booming and we have an extra 2 million people in work | :35:54. | :35:58. | |
and spending money, yet our main trading partners across the Channel | :35:59. | :36:02. | |
have been in recession. That will inevitably cause problems for our | :36:03. | :36:07. | |
export record. In the same way I would draw attention to the | :36:08. | :36:10. | |
honourable gentleman from Sdfton Central when he referred to our | :36:11. | :36:14. | |
productivity. It will not h`ve escaped him, or the honourable | :36:15. | :36:18. | |
members opposite, that what we have done to tame the excesses of the | :36:19. | :36:22. | |
City and also the very sad consequences of what has happened in | :36:23. | :36:26. | |
the North Sea recently, with the oil price, of which the honourable | :36:27. | :36:31. | |
gentleman from Aberdeen spoke so eloquently, that has of course had | :36:32. | :36:36. | |
an impact on productivity, those being two of our hires to rdceptors. | :36:37. | :36:40. | |
And that of course has had `n impact on our activity statistic m`x. - | :36:41. | :36:49. | |
stats. I hope the House will congratulate the government on the | :36:50. | :36:52. | |
conditions it is creating to allow UK plc in general and those many | :36:53. | :36:58. | |
small businesses the chance to be productive, to export, and to | :36:59. | :36:59. | |
flourish. Sammy Wilson. I think any debate of this nature, | :37:00. | :37:10. | |
there is perhaps the tendency for those on the opposition benches to | :37:11. | :37:14. | |
emphasise the negatives. I know the Minister, in her attempts to | :37:15. | :37:21. | |
head-butt the opposition and then kicked them down in her spedch, I | :37:22. | :37:25. | |
don't mean that as an insult, actually, I'm congratulating her, | :37:26. | :37:28. | |
she quite enjoyed it, she elphasised that, that we should not talk the | :37:29. | :37:33. | |
economy down. I think that hs true. She highlighted and indeed lany | :37:34. | :37:36. | |
other members have highlighted the very positive things that h`ve | :37:37. | :37:40. | |
happened, the fact we have high growth, the fact we have crdated a | :37:41. | :37:44. | |
lot of jobs, the fact that we have inflation under control. But while | :37:45. | :37:51. | |
we should not knock the economy equally, I have to say that we | :37:52. | :37:56. | |
should not be complacent about the performance of the economy. Whilst | :37:57. | :38:01. | |
some of the headline figures have been good, and has shown th`t the | :38:02. | :38:07. | |
government has achieved somd success in the plan which it has for the | :38:08. | :38:11. | |
economy, nevertheless, therd are very worrying under trends. The | :38:12. | :38:16. | |
opposition and the proposer of the motion today were right to hdentify | :38:17. | :38:22. | |
them. Firstly, we do have a problem with our balance of payments. I know | :38:23. | :38:29. | |
that the member, I think it was the Bedford, I hope I have got ht right, | :38:30. | :38:35. | |
asked the question, should we worry? Of course we should worry. Hf there | :38:36. | :38:42. | |
is more money being taken ott of the economy as the result of a balance | :38:43. | :38:46. | |
of payments deficit, it will be deflate-gate. As was pointed out, | :38:47. | :38:50. | |
the difference has to be pahd. Whether that is by selling `ssets, | :38:51. | :38:54. | |
or having to borrow money from abroad, nevertheless, that hs the | :38:55. | :38:59. | |
long-term consequence. If wd are not exporting as much as we shotld, one | :39:00. | :39:07. | |
of the things which has been shown to improve the productivity | :39:08. | :39:09. | |
performance of firms is exposure to foreign markets. Therefore, | :39:10. | :39:16. | |
productivity and exports ard linked. I think we need to be concerned | :39:17. | :39:21. | |
about it. But just to make one point, Madam Deputy Speaker. The | :39:22. | :39:25. | |
fact we have a huge deficit with the rest of the EU, I think, maxbe, does | :39:26. | :39:31. | |
answer some of those who sax that if we decided to leave the EU, they | :39:32. | :39:34. | |
would close the door on us. They could not afford to close the door | :39:35. | :39:38. | |
on such a lucrative market `s the UK has. I think that is an important | :39:39. | :39:44. | |
point to bury mine in the whder debate about the EU renegothation. | :39:45. | :39:50. | |
-- to bear in mind. Alex Borg performance has been poor. Our | :39:51. | :39:53. | |
productivity performance has been poor. Indeed, it has been ddscribed | :39:54. | :40:01. | |
as abysmal, even with the long-term trend of 2%, we are only making a | :40:02. | :40:07. | |
10th of that in recent years. Of course, that in turn affects our | :40:08. | :40:10. | |
competitiveness and also thd ability of the government to bring hn tax | :40:11. | :40:16. | |
revenue. Productivity does have an important role to play, there. The | :40:17. | :40:21. | |
fact that we won from the bottom of the seven major industrial nations | :40:22. | :40:27. | |
in the world is something which should cause of concern. -- we are | :40:28. | :40:33. | |
one from the bottom. An unddrlying trend we should be worried `bout is | :40:34. | :40:37. | |
the decline in manufacturing. It is not enough to say that, well, you | :40:38. | :40:41. | |
know, the economy evolves and we move towards service industries and | :40:42. | :40:46. | |
there's less of a distinction between service and manufacturing | :40:47. | :40:49. | |
industries, as has been described. Manufacturing is important. Indeed, | :40:50. | :40:52. | |
the government, in its plan, has accepted that manufacturing is | :40:53. | :40:58. | |
important. And yet, we find that manufacturing output has fallen | :40:59. | :41:04. | |
Again, measured against the government's own criteria, here is | :41:05. | :41:10. | |
another factor which we cannot be complacent about. Of course, last | :41:11. | :41:14. | |
year, as has been mentioned in this debate today, the dependencd upon | :41:15. | :41:19. | |
consumer demand in the growth we have been experiencing. I h`ve to | :41:20. | :41:26. | |
say, I find that... Even thd Chancellor seems to have ignored | :41:27. | :41:31. | |
this, tried to play it down. But why we should be concerned about | :41:32. | :41:35. | |
government debt, which is 80% of GDP, and have no concern about | :41:36. | :41:41. | |
consumer debt, which is 145$ of gross disposable income, is beyond | :41:42. | :41:48. | |
me. Public sector debt is not a good basis for growth, so privatd-sector | :41:49. | :41:54. | |
debt is not a good basis for growth either unless we can say it is going | :41:55. | :41:58. | |
into those kinds of areas which are productive, and which yield a high | :41:59. | :42:03. | |
return. I don't think that we can afford to be complacent. I think it | :42:04. | :42:06. | |
is one of those on the government benches to attack those who have | :42:07. | :42:11. | |
raised the issue today, and say that somehow or other, they are being | :42:12. | :42:16. | |
disloyal, or hurting the economy. I think what we have got to do is try | :42:17. | :42:20. | |
to make sure that we get thd things in perspective. I hope that I have | :42:21. | :42:24. | |
at least acknowledge that while there have been successes, there is | :42:25. | :42:28. | |
no cause for complacency. If we could maybe just look at thd issues | :42:29. | :42:32. | |
which I believe need to be addressed, the first one is the | :42:33. | :42:39. | |
whole issue of productivity. In the government's own 7-point pl`n, in | :42:40. | :42:45. | |
fixing the foundations, there are a raft of issues which have bden | :42:46. | :42:52. | |
highlighted. Some of them are, it is an important role for the private | :42:53. | :42:54. | |
sector, investment by the private sector, training workers and the | :42:55. | :43:00. | |
apprenticeship scheme is putting more and more emphasis on the | :43:01. | :43:02. | |
private sector. But many of the measures which are listed there will | :43:03. | :43:09. | |
require public investment. This is where I think a distinction has to | :43:10. | :43:12. | |
be made when it comes to talking about borrowing and governmdnt | :43:13. | :43:15. | |
spending. If public investmdnt can yield a return, then why is | :43:16. | :43:21. | |
borrowing for that purpose ` bad thing? It is not a bad thing for | :43:22. | :43:25. | |
firms to do it. It is not a bad thing for households to do ht, if it | :43:26. | :43:29. | |
provides a return. So why should that kind of borrowing... Somehow or | :43:30. | :43:36. | |
other be lumped with all, jtst general government borrowing and the | :43:37. | :43:38. | |
government saying they can't afford to do it? If it brings that return, | :43:39. | :43:45. | |
then it is important. And fhxing the foundations, whether ministdrs and | :43:46. | :43:51. | |
make it or not, does requird and indicate that substantial ptblic | :43:52. | :43:54. | |
investment is required in btilding up the infrastructure which is | :43:55. | :43:58. | |
required to increase productivity. Increasing exports is the sdcond | :43:59. | :44:05. | |
one. Whilst the government linisters have promised in the House of Lords, | :44:06. | :44:11. | |
they have pledged to mobilise the whole of the government behhnd | :44:12. | :44:16. | |
exporting, working alongsidd a more effective UK TI and better dxport | :44:17. | :44:21. | |
finance, I wonder, have thex really lived up to the rhetoric of that? | :44:22. | :44:25. | |
Yes, there are difficulties with Europe but Europe is not thd only | :44:26. | :44:30. | |
market. Indeed, if we look `t the growth in world trade, why have we | :44:31. | :44:33. | |
got such a small proportion of the additional world trade? Firls would | :44:34. | :44:40. | |
tell us that one of the reasons this, I mean, 80% of them don't even | :44:41. | :44:45. | |
export anyway. Sometimes because of regulation will stop some of that | :44:46. | :44:48. | |
regulation can't be avoided, it is overseas but some of it could be | :44:49. | :44:51. | |
dealt with by changes here. The government could make regul`tions | :44:52. | :44:58. | |
around exporting goods less amorous. When it comes -- less own arrests. | :44:59. | :45:03. | |
When it comes to introductions to market, how much do we use the | :45:04. | :45:08. | |
networks that we have across the world through embassies? I know | :45:09. | :45:14. | |
that... There is a role for regional government play. In Northern | :45:15. | :45:17. | |
Ireland, exports have gone tp by 4% but that has been the result of hard | :45:18. | :45:23. | |
work, by Invest in NI. Therd are lots of ways of doing it. Wd have | :45:24. | :45:27. | |
the friends of Northern Ireland where we look at contacts in markets | :45:28. | :45:30. | |
that we want to target, people who are expats, people who have studied | :45:31. | :45:36. | |
in Northern Ireland and then gone back home. Can we use that network? | :45:37. | :45:41. | |
Is there something there th`t we can use on a more UK wide basis? Do we | :45:42. | :45:45. | |
make full use of the contacts that embassies have? I know tradd | :45:46. | :45:51. | |
missions from Northern Irel`nd are sometimes found embassies ldss than | :45:52. | :45:56. | |
helpful. -- have sometimes. Can we do that for those initial steps | :45:57. | :45:59. | |
Many firms will tell you th`t they need to go several times to market | :46:00. | :46:02. | |
before they start making thd contacts. That is expensive, | :46:03. | :46:06. | |
especially for small and medium enterprise. What help can bd given | :46:07. | :46:11. | |
as far as that is concerned? The last one, of course, is boosting | :46:12. | :46:18. | |
manufacturing industry. We have had a number of contributions hdre | :46:19. | :46:21. | |
today, many of which have highlighted the whole issue of | :46:22. | :46:28. | |
energy costs. The steel indtstry, of course, is only one. In Northern | :46:29. | :46:31. | |
Ireland recently, we have lost a lot of jobs from huge employers, who | :46:32. | :46:37. | |
cited energy costs as one of the main reasons. There appears to be a | :46:38. | :46:41. | |
schizophrenic attitude, even from the government, although it is | :46:42. | :46:44. | |
removing subsidies from the most expensive form of electricity | :46:45. | :46:49. | |
generation, even today, the Prime Minister at question time, on one | :46:50. | :46:54. | |
hand saying that it was mord its pensive to produce green endrgy he | :46:55. | :46:58. | |
boasted about the amount of green energy in the pipeline and would be | :46:59. | :47:03. | |
brought in in the future. -, that it was more expensive to produce green | :47:04. | :47:07. | |
energy. If that is the aim, then let's be honest, we are going to | :47:08. | :47:10. | |
find that we make it diffictlt for some kind of manufacturers. The | :47:11. | :47:16. | |
significant on shoring in the US has occurred has energy prices have come | :47:17. | :47:21. | |
down. That is a lesson for ts. I will try to abide by your rtling, | :47:22. | :47:25. | |
Madam Deputy Speaker, I've had my ten minutes and I trust that the | :47:26. | :47:31. | |
government will take this ddbate seriously, will accept it. H accept | :47:32. | :47:34. | |
from Northern Ireland that there is a role for regional governmdnt of | :47:35. | :47:38. | |
late. We are going to reducd corporation tax. We have got | :47:39. | :47:43. | |
devolution of passenger dutx for long-haul passenger routes which we | :47:44. | :47:45. | |
believe has been important hn extending Arabella deep to `ttract | :47:46. | :47:49. | |
more investment and bring investors into Northern Ireland. -- extending | :47:50. | :47:53. | |
our ability to attract. Havhng the cost of travel reduced. We have | :47:54. | :47:58. | |
undertaken other measures btt there are national measures which are | :47:59. | :48:01. | |
beyond our control and which only central government can deal with, if | :48:02. | :48:03. | |
we are going to deal with these issues. Richard Graham. Thank you, | :48:04. | :48:10. | |
Madam Deputy Speaker, a gre`t pleasure to follow the honotrable | :48:11. | :48:13. | |
member for East Antrim with using the easy as for what can be done in | :48:14. | :48:16. | |
Northern Ireland to boost exports and growth there. -- with hhs MPs | :48:17. | :48:22. | |
Yuften. Declaring in interest as the Prime Minister's trade envox for | :48:23. | :48:25. | |
Indonesia, Madam Deputy Spe`ker I welcome this opposition Day debate | :48:26. | :48:29. | |
which focuses on important hssues, the balance of the economy, the | :48:30. | :48:33. | |
export and productivity challenges and the finance of business research | :48:34. | :48:37. | |
and development. These are important, although sadly not | :48:38. | :48:40. | |
important enough to attract more than five members of the official | :48:41. | :48:43. | |
opposition but I should highlight the presence of both the melbers for | :48:44. | :48:48. | |
Hartlepool and West Bromwich, current and former chairman of the | :48:49. | :48:52. | |
business select committee. @nd now, lonely champions of business in a | :48:53. | :48:56. | |
party more committed to strhkes and reshuffles than innovation `nd | :48:57. | :49:01. | |
exports. Madam Deputy Speakdr, the member of the Dundee let us off on | :49:02. | :49:08. | |
today's debate. -- the membdr for Dundee let us. He made some | :49:09. | :49:11. | |
interesting points but his speech was overshadowed by what I can only | :49:12. | :49:15. | |
describe as an overwhelming gloom, and extended rendering of the lament | :49:16. | :49:21. | |
from Private Fraser in Dad's Army, "We're doomed!" I waited, pdn | :49:22. | :49:25. | |
poised, for some of his proposals to lift us from this gloom. He said the | :49:26. | :49:29. | |
UK economy should have more manufacturing. I agree, we'll do, it | :49:30. | :49:34. | |
halved under Labour and it hs still recovering but no suggestions came. | :49:35. | :49:38. | |
He highlighted the UK's rel`tively weak productivity but offerdd no | :49:39. | :49:42. | |
solutions. We await the bushness paper and the select committee | :49:43. | :49:46. | |
recommendations. He felt thdre might be a deterioration of busindss, R | :49:47. | :49:52. | |
and D funding, but he gave no recognition to the R and D | :49:53. | :49:55. | |
allowances and the motion of venture capital funding for smaller | :49:56. | :49:58. | |
companies. So we know the answer, alas, from the member for Dtndee, we | :49:59. | :50:03. | |
are still all doomed. Today, I want to try to offer some shafts of light | :50:04. | :50:10. | |
amidst the encircling gloom. Here, I have do disagree slightly whth the | :50:11. | :50:15. | |
member for Dundee's fellow on the Labour benches, the Shadow linister, | :50:16. | :50:19. | |
the honourable member for Sdfton Central, who suggested that | :50:20. | :50:22. | |
Britain's rise to head the G7 growth table within a few years of the | :50:23. | :50:28. | |
great recession was inevitable. Madam Deputy Speaker, I don't | :50:29. | :50:30. | |
believe that any recovery is inevitable and certainly not one | :50:31. | :50:34. | |
that generates more jobs th`n the other 27 countries of the ET put | :50:35. | :50:38. | |
together. Roath are driven by a determined partnership betwden | :50:39. | :50:42. | |
government and business, with MPs across the House playing our part by | :50:43. | :50:46. | |
hosting jobs fairs, hiring apprentices and helping bushnesses | :50:47. | :50:50. | |
to export. So let me say a few words about Gloucester, where in 2011 I | :50:51. | :50:56. | |
hosted the first constituency and County China seminar with the | :50:57. | :51:01. | |
China-Britain business Council. Here are some of the manufacturing things | :51:02. | :51:04. | |
we export from Gloucester, to bring some cheer to the SNP benchds about | :51:05. | :51:09. | |
the state of Manufacturing. We export cylinders which are hn every | :51:10. | :51:12. | |
Dyson vacuum cleaner in the world. We export giant vowels into the oil | :51:13. | :51:18. | |
and gas sector. We export ddntal drills, predominantly to Chhna and | :51:19. | :51:27. | |
America. -- giant... We export marine diesel engines for ctstoms | :51:28. | :51:30. | |
and other marine boats. We dven make shirts which are sold both directly | :51:31. | :51:34. | |
from the factories in Gloucdster or via Jermyn Street in London. We have | :51:35. | :51:39. | |
a series of manufacturers who are subcontractors in the world of | :51:40. | :51:42. | |
aerospace and especially to Abbas Khan with the landing gear for every | :51:43. | :51:48. | |
Airbus, several Boeings and every Eurofighter may just outsidd | :51:49. | :51:51. | |
Gloucester. It is true that we have not yet sold our Made in Gloucester | :51:52. | :51:56. | |
rigid bats to China, Madam Deputy is bigger. I'm working on it. But I can | :51:57. | :52:00. | |
confirm that Gloucester entrepreneurs have sold flavoured | :52:01. | :52:05. | |
tea back to China. This is part of an overall UK growth in exports to | :52:06. | :52:10. | |
China and Asia which now generates over ?500 billion of exports per | :52:11. | :52:15. | |
year, up some ?80 billion shnce 2010. I pay tribute to ministers in | :52:16. | :52:19. | |
the UK TI who have added to resources in China although I would | :52:20. | :52:22. | |
add that some modest rebalancing towards Southeast Asia would be very | :52:23. | :52:26. | |
welcome. There's always mord to be done on exports and growth. As the | :52:27. | :52:30. | |
member for East Antrim said, we could not and should not ovdrride | :52:31. | :52:33. | |
the current situation. Here are a few suggestions. -- over egg. A | :52:34. | :52:39. | |
restructure of UK TI resources to focus on where value can be most | :52:40. | :52:43. | |
added, which I believe is h`ppening as we speak. I believe valud is best | :52:44. | :52:48. | |
added, not by writing reports but by a serious customer relationship | :52:49. | :52:51. | |
driven approach. Secondly, additional trade envoys for markets | :52:52. | :52:55. | |
where nothing is easy but everything is possible, and doors need to be | :52:56. | :52:59. | |
opened by representatives of the Prime Minister. The model is proven | :53:00. | :53:04. | |
and it provides continuity with government overseas. Thirdlx, a | :53:05. | :53:07. | |
focus on the industries of the future and the honourable exception | :53:08. | :53:11. | |
on the SNP benches to the t`ble of gloom was provided by the mdmber for | :53:12. | :53:19. | |
Inverness. He focused a bit on the industries of the future, creating | :53:20. | :53:26. | |
me do it -- creating media, cyber, fin tech and aerospace technology as | :53:27. | :53:29. | |
whether these are some of the great exports would buy the way include | :53:30. | :53:32. | |
education. Fourthly, closer relationships with universities not | :53:33. | :53:40. | |
just for the export potenti`l but also for their research output. I | :53:41. | :53:44. | |
give for example be wonderftl electron, driverless robot pods that | :53:45. | :53:47. | |
deliver some people to their flight at terminal five at London Heathrow | :53:48. | :53:51. | |
from the car park. It is a Bristol University output. Lastly, greater | :53:52. | :53:58. | |
use of technology to capturd both the success of SME exporters and | :53:59. | :54:02. | |
communicate this movie by fhlm to seminars for example as far away as | :54:03. | :54:06. | |
Baldassarri, Pembroke, Plymouth or Perth. What can't be doubted in all | :54:07. | :54:12. | |
of this is the government's commitments to business and exports, | :54:13. | :54:15. | |
led by the Prime Minister hhmself, as the member for Macclesfidld | :54:16. | :54:19. | |
rightly pointed out an succdssive trade ministers. It can also be | :54:20. | :54:22. | |
seen, this commitment, in tdrms of the expansion of capital av`ilable | :54:23. | :54:26. | |
from the UK Export Finance, the reduction of red tape, corporate tax | :54:27. | :54:30. | |
and the increase of the allowances I have referred to, as well as new | :54:31. | :54:35. | |
sector specific funds like the skills investment fund, viddo games, | :54:36. | :54:39. | |
quite a tight fund, patents box new investment clowns, so important in | :54:40. | :54:43. | |
the oil and gas sector in Scotland. Last but by no means -- no leans | :54:44. | :54:47. | |
least, the creation of a grdat campaign from number ten itself his | :54:48. | :54:50. | |
creator was awarded an OBE hn the New Year's honours and quitd | :54:51. | :54:57. | |
rightly. This makes, I belidve, for a strongly export and growth focused | :54:58. | :55:02. | |
government. Clearly, there's another aspect of UK TI's work which has not | :55:03. | :55:07. | |
been mentioned which is inw`rd investment. With our mountahns of | :55:08. | :55:11. | |
inherited debt, weenie others to finance infrastructure growth. We | :55:12. | :55:15. | |
have been in almost doubling direct investment in the last five years. | :55:16. | :55:20. | |
-- we need others. Why does this boost and had a it boost UK | :55:21. | :55:23. | |
manufacturing, in response to the question asked by the member of East | :55:24. | :55:27. | |
Lothian earlier? For exampld, so much of the design, construction, | :55:28. | :55:32. | |
servicing and operation of the new Hinkley Point power station will be | :55:33. | :55:35. | |
by British companies and Brhtish expertise. While these figures do | :55:36. | :55:39. | |
nothing for export in themsdlves, they do boost manufacturing and | :55:40. | :55:44. | |
growth. The same will be trter Crossrail, HS2 and other kex | :55:45. | :55:47. | |
infrastructure projects. -- true for Crossrail. | :55:48. | :55:59. | |
When other aspect missing from the debate so far has been the hmpact of | :56:00. | :56:07. | |
tourism to Britain, boosted by our heritage, and important incdntives | :56:08. | :56:11. | |
to film makers, some of which were introduced by the current Sdcretary | :56:12. | :56:15. | |
of State, and tourism follows another great success which is our | :56:16. | :56:19. | |
bids to host sporting events. The Labour Party can't take pride in | :56:20. | :56:24. | |
this accessible bid for the 201 Olympics. I have experience from the | :56:25. | :56:28. | |
great World Cup of Rugby 2005 and the impact of the games on the city | :56:29. | :56:35. | |
of Boston. I pay tribute to the captain of the Scottish rugby team | :56:36. | :56:39. | |
who is our scrum-half, Craig Laidlaw. Scotland itself of course | :56:40. | :56:46. | |
will remember surely since this is an SNP driven motion, the ilportance | :56:47. | :56:52. | |
of these great sporting events on the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. | :56:53. | :56:58. | |
This is a government doing hts bit for growth in a series of dhfferent | :56:59. | :57:03. | |
ways. Which brings me to my last point about Scotland. In thd | :57:04. | :57:08. | |
18th-century, when Scotland joined England in arguably the most | :57:09. | :57:10. | |
successful union in the world the land of my ancestors was full of | :57:11. | :57:17. | |
entrepreneurs. They exported not just products but themselves around | :57:18. | :57:21. | |
the world, setting out the largest non-government employer in Hong | :57:22. | :57:25. | |
Kong, starting a still flourishing tea business in Bangladesh `nd | :57:26. | :57:31. | |
Kenya, creating teak merchants in Burma, railroads in Canada, and | :57:32. | :57:36. | |
helping Ruffles establish Shngapore and much more beside. My ancestors | :57:37. | :57:41. | |
exported themselves to Northern Ireland and helped create the linen | :57:42. | :57:45. | |
business there. My point about these great Scotsman is that they did not | :57:46. | :57:49. | |
advocate a welfare state or an ever-increasing role for thd | :57:50. | :57:53. | |
government, or belong to thd International Marxism, like the | :57:54. | :57:59. | |
member of East Lothian. Thex were innovative, and they got on with the | :58:00. | :58:03. | |
business of business. So whdre are they today? The Scottish banks | :58:04. | :58:09. | |
crashed, oil and gas is strtggling, nuclear defence is disdained, time | :58:10. | :58:18. | |
for the SNP to get behind the new entrepreneurs and increase | :58:19. | :58:23. | |
Scotland's share of net exports 7%, slightly less than the used | :58:24. | :58:28. | |
Midlands. I think the land of my ancestors can punch significantly | :58:29. | :58:29. | |
better than that. | :58:30. | :58:31. |